Twist of Fate
by jsdhgladjsfkhg
Summary: Family tragedy moves Gabriella across the country and next door to Troy. When another move separates them, accidents happen, and they are forbidden to see or speak to each other, will fate bring them back together? Troyella, Chadella, Troylor, Chaylor
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay, so this is my first story. Let me know what you think. Hope you all like it. **

**Oh, and a HUGE thank you to LunarEclipse360 for putting up with me lol. If y'all haven't read her stuff, you should. She's awesome!**

**And since everyone else puts a disclaimer in their stuff, here's mine and it applies to the whole story (so I don't have to write it a zillion times) I DO NOT OWN HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL, just the plot of this story and any original characters.  
**

* * *

"Gabriella, are you ready?"

Gabriella nodded and turned to follow her cousin Rusty who was carrying her lone bag of possessions. As she shut the cab door she took one last look at the cemetery. The remnants of a family reunion gone horribly wrong. The driver put the car in drive and began the short trip to the airport. Gabriella sighed and fought back tears as she watched as all she knew of her twelve years of life faded away behind her. The airport and the flight from Ohio to Oregon passed as a blur. Before she knew it, they were on their way to her new home.

Gabriella looked out the window and let her mind wander, once again fighting tears as she remembered the events of the past week.

_"Mom," Gabriella begged. "Please can I just stay one night at Jenny's house? It's her birthday and everyone is gonna be there!"_

_"Gabriella," her mother replied, "you know you need to spend time with your family. They will all be going home in just a few days. Who knows when you will get to see them again?"_

_"But mom," she whined. "They have been here for a week and a half! I have been spending time with them. I just want ONE night with my best friend for her birthday. Is that too much to ask? I'll be back tomorrow afternoon and will spend the last few days of the reunion with family. I promise!"_

_"Fine, but only if her mother can come pick you up."_

_"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" she squealed and hugged her mother before running to her room to call her friend and start packing her bag._

_An hour later Jenny and her mother pulled up. "Thanks mom!" Gabriella yelled running out to the car. "I love you!" She hopped in and the car pulled away._

"Gabriella?" Rusty's voice pulled her back to the present time. She looked over at him. His blonde hair and blue eyes made him the object of all her friend's affection. He gestured out the window nervously. "We're here," he said softly.

Gabriella looked at the house in front of her. It wasn't anything like her spacious home in Ohio. It was small, square and boring. "Why does it have two front doors?" she asked.

"It's called a duplex," Rusty answered. "There are two separate units in the building. We live in one side and another family lives in the other."

_Scratch that_, she thought. _It's not small, it's tiny._ She looked at the house again and scowled.

Rusty sighed. "Look, I know it's not what you are used to, but it's the best I could do on such short notice and my budget. I am after all, a poor college student." He looked to Gabriella who was still frowning. "I'm sorry Gabs, I really am, but I'm trying as hard as I can. This is all brand new to me, too." He placed his hand on her shoulder. "Please, will you just give it a chance?" Her expression softened and she nodded slowly. "Thank you," he said relieved. "Care to take a look around? I haven't been inside yet either."

Rusty motioned for Gabriella to go ahead while he got their bags out of the car. She was surprised that the door was unlocked. She opened the door and walked into an open living room. The far wall was actually a bar to separate it from the kitchen. Just to the right of the bar there was a door leading into a bedroom that she assumed belonged to Rusty. Across from it on the wall to her left was another doorway. She walked through it into a hallway. She found herself facing a bathroom. The short hallway extended to both sides. On her left there was a small room that didn't have space for anything more than the computer desk and office chair that were already there. To the right she found what she decided must be her bedroom. It was bigger than the office, but not even half the size of her large room back home. It had a twin sized bed and a nightstand.

"We can go shopping in the next few days for some new furniture and clothes for you," Rusty said from behind her. "I got approved for a credit card so we don't have to wait for the checks from... well... everything to start coming in."

Gabriella took a deep breath. She decided that this was her new life and she might as well make the best of it. "Thanks, Rusty. I'd like that," she said as she smiled at him.

"Ok, Rusty, I think everything is settled," she heard someone say from in the hallway. The mystery man stopped in the doorway.

"Hey, thanks a bunch for moving all this stuff while I was gone. I really appreciate it and I'm sure Gabs is happy to have a bed to sleep in. Gabriella, this is one of my frat brothers, Jake. Jake, this is my cousin Gabriella," Rusty said motioning between the two for the introductions.

"It's nice to meet you," Jake said smiling at Gabriella. "Hey man, I don't mean to run out on you, but I had a late night last night and it's been a long day. I'm going home to hit the hay." He shook Rusty's hand and waved to her before turning to leave.

"So are you hungry? Do you want to order a pizza before bed?" Rusty asked her.

"No thanks," she said. "I'm pretty tired so I'm just going to go straight to bed. I'll see you in the morning though." Rusty nodded and started to walk away. "Hey Rusty?" she asked. He turned to face her again and raised an eyebrow. "Thanks. Thanks for everything."

He walked over to Gabriella and gave her a hug. "No problem, Gabs. Goodnight."

Gabriella changed into her pajamas and climbed into bed wondering what her new life had in store for her. Before long she drifted into a peaceful sleep.

The next day was spent shopping for new clothes, furniture and decor because what little Rusty did have in the fraternity where he was living before he received the news that he was Gabriella's legal guardian wasn't really appropriate for a twelve year old. The few days after that were filled with painting, hanging things on the walls, furniture deliveries and way too much Chinese takeout.

Gabriella and Rusty fell exhausted onto their new couch in the living room. "Man I'm worn out," Rusty exclaimed, "but this place sure does look great!" She nodded in agreement. "I'm too tired to cook and too tired of Chinese to eat it again anytime soon. Wanna order a pizza for dinner and vow to start cooking real meals tomorrow?"

She nodded again then leaned her head back and closed her eyes. "Meat lovers," she said. Rusty ordered the pizza then returned to the couch where they sat relaxing in a comfortable silence. Twenty minutes later the doorbell rang. He hopped up and walked to the door pulling his wallet out of his back pocket, digging through it as he opened the door. When he looked up he was surprised to see a man, woman and boy that appeared to be about Gabriella's age.

"Hi! We're your new neighbors," the man said less than enthusiastically. "I'm Jack Bolton, this is my wife Mary and our son Troy."

"Nice to meet you," Rusty said shaking their hands. He motioned for Gabriella to come to the door. "I'm Rusty and this is my cousin Gabriella." She smiled and looked at Troy who was standing with his arms crossed staring at the ground with a sour look on his face. She rolled her eyes.

"I know people think it's old fashioned," Mary said, "but I made you some cookies." She held out a plate filled with chocolate chip cookies.

"Oh thank you!" Rusty said. "I'm sorry I seem to have forgotten my manners. Please, come in!" He opened the door wider and ushered the three in taking the plate of cookies into the kitchen.

"Gabriella it's so sweet of you to come help your cousin get settled in," Mary said as they all sat on the couch.

"Well actually," Gabriella said softly, "I live here too."

If she was caught of guard or felt awkward, Mary didn't let it show. "I should have guessed. This place has too much of a woman's touch to be a man zone. How old are you?"

"Twelve."

"Oh great! So is Troy! I'm so glad to have someone his age in the neighborhood, especially as our neighbor! Plus, you'll already know someone when you guys start school in a couple weeks!" She gave Gabriella a warm smile.

She smiled back at her. "I've only gone to one school my entire life back in Ohio. It was small so everybody knew everybody else."

"Well every year the skating rink has a night for kids with skating, pizza, dancing karaoke, all kinds of stuff. I think it's next week. You can go with Troy and his friends, right Troy?"

Troy's head shot up. "But mom," he started to protest as Jack elbowed him in the side. He sighed and looked back at the ground. "Right."

Once again, the doorbell rang. While Rusty got up to answer it and Mary kept talking about skating, school and making new friends Gabriella studied Troy. She had to admit that Mary's enthusiasm about school was contagious and surprised herself by getting a little excited. She was less than excited about hanging out with Troy. He had a bad attitude and she didn't like it. She could only imagine what his friends were like.

"Pizza's here Gabs," Rusty said pulling her from her thoughts. "Would you guys care for any?" The Boltons all shook their heads no. They started to leave but Rusty insisted they stay so he could talk to them about school. This was all new to him and he had no idea where the school was, let alone how to go about getting Gabriella registered. Mary told him which school zone they lived in and explained that if they went and filled out the transfer papers the next day and Gabriella could come with them to regular registration the next week so Troy could give her a tour of the school. They all had milk and cookies then the Boltons went home and Rusty and Gabriella went to bed.

When it came time to go to registration the next week, Troy had the same bad attitude and sour look on his face. Gabriella wished she knew what his problem was. When they arrived he was instantly surrounded by other kids. He had temporarily lost his scowl when his mother said, "Aren't you going to introduce them to your new friend?"

He rolled his eyes. "Josh, Mike, Kyle, Sam, Thomas, Hillary, Beth, this is Gabriella."

The boys nodded while Hillary and Beth started talking to her. She was happy to know they were all going into the seventh grade. She was even happier to find out she had one or both of them in all of her classes. That happiness was short lived when she heard the boys talking about their schedules and realized that Troy was in all of her classes as well.

"Troy! You can Gabriella have all the same classes!" Beth exclaimed. "Isn't that awesome?"

He groaned. "Just great."

Gabriella decided she would much rather have Beth and Hillary show her around the school than Troy, so she told Mrs. Bolton and off they went.

"So what is Troy's deal today?" Hillary asked. "Is he mad at you or something?"

"You mean he isn't always this delightful?" Gabriella asked sarcastically.

"I thought you two were friends?" Beth questioned.

She laughed. "Just neighbors. His mom is trying awfully hard to get us to be friends though. I'm supposed to go to something at the skating rink with him tomorrow night, but I don't think I want to deal with him."

"So come with us," Beth said.

Hillary nodded. "And if he wants to be a pain, let him," she added. "Two can play at that game." She exchanged knowing looks with Beth. Gabriella didn't know what it meant, but she was pretty sure she liked it. The girls finished the tour, discussed their plan and exchanged phone numbers before Mrs. Bolton took her and Troy home.

The next day Gabriella, Hillary and Beth worked out the details for that evening. Just as planned, when Troy came over to get her to leave for the skating rink she answered the door in her bathrobe with her hair a disheveled mess. "Sorry Troy," she said. "I'm not feeling very well." For the first time, Troy smiled at her. Without saying anything he turned and walked away. She rolled her eyes and shut the door. As she got out of the shower, she heard Troy outside yelling goodbye to his mother and leaving with his ride to the party. She quickly got dressed, brushed her teeth and dried and styled her hair. Just as she was putting her shoes on, the doorbell rang. She yelled goodbye to Rusty as she opened the door and ran back to the car with Beth where her mother and Hillary were waiting. On the ride there Beth did Gabriella's makeup with a silver shimmer eye shadow, mascara, and a thick coat of clear lip gloss. When they walked into the skating rink and found Troy with the other boys he did a double take. Before his signature scowl appeared on his face Gabriella could have sworn she saw a hint of a smile.

"I thought you were sick," he muttered.

"I'm feeling a little better," she said softly, sticking to the plan.

Troy's stare followed the girls, specifically Gabriella, as they walked away and got pizza and soda. "That Gabriella girl is kinda cute," Josh said grinning at his friends.

"Don't get any ideas," Troy said.

"Why not?" Josh asked raising an eyebrow. "Do you like her or something?"

Troy suddenly realized what he had said. "NO!" he exclaimed. "I, uh... I just don't want her hanging around all the time. It's bad enough I have to live next door to her. Besides, she's too quiet to be friends with us."

"So, do you think he's buying the quiet and shy act?" Hillary asked from the table across the building where they were eating their pizza. They all looked over at the boys. When she saw Troy looking their way Gabriella turned away and pretended to blush. He rolled his eyes.

"Definitely!" Beth said excitedly.

An hour or so later the whole gang was hanging out by the dance floor and small stage when the DJ announced that karaoke would be starting and if nobody volunteered he would be picking random people to sing. Beth and Hillary stood up saying they had to go to the bathroom and asked if Gabriella was coming. Knowing it was all a part of their plan she said she would stay there. The two girls made their way towards the bathroom. When they saw that none of their friends were looking they darted off to talk to the DJ. After a minute or two they returned and winked at Gabriella.

"Troy, we all know you can sing, why don't you volunteer?" Beth asked. She knew Troy would sing something like he had for the past couple years, but she also knew he would wait awhile and that he loved to have his ego boosted.

"I will, later" he said. "No need to go out there first and set the bar so high no one can measure up. Gotta let all the amateurs go first." He laughed as his buddies elbowed him and rolled their eyes.

"Gabriella, do you sing?" Hillary asked her.

"Oh, no," Gabriella said quickly as she blushed. "I don't like being in front of people."

After one kid completely butchered a song and a few other mediocre performances the DJ came over the speakers. "How about a duet? Anyone up for it?" he asked. When nobody volunteered he grinned. "Alright... you know what that means. I get to pick the singers myself." He began to walk around scanning all the kids before stopping at their table. "I remember you from last year," he said to Troy. "So get up on that stage. Now which one of these lovely ladies should sing with you?" Beth and Hillary giggled and pointed wildly to Gabriella. "Alright, your friends have volunteered you. Get on up there." He grabbed her hand and pulled a protesting Gabriella to the stage. Troy smiled remembering Gabriella say she didn't sing. He couldn't wait to see her embarrass herself.

The music started and Gabriella fidgeted nervously. The familiar music poured out of the speakers and filled the room. Troy had a cocky look on his face. She knew he was waiting for her to make a fool of herself.

"Living in my own world, didn't understand," his voice rang out as he began singing. _Wow, he __**can**__ sing,_ she thought. "That anything can happen when you take a chance." He smirked at her knowing the next few lines were hers.

Gabriella smiled. Their plan was working perfectly. _Get ready to wipe that cocky little smirk off you face, Troy Bolton, _she thought. She threw her shy act out the window and gave him a challenging look as she sang her part. "I never believed in what I couldn't see. I never opened my heart to all the possibilities."

The smirk on Troy's face was quickly replaced by a look of surprise and confusion. He looked at Beth and Hillary who were laughing at him then back at Gabriella who returned his cocky smirk from only moments before. _Alright, little miss Gabriella. Two can play that game,_ he thought as he stepped back up to his microphone. They spent the rest of the song trying to out perform each other. He surprised himself by having fun. When the song was over and the crowd was on their feet cheering he locked eyes with Gabriella and gave her a small nod and a smile. She smiled back as Beth and Hillary ran up to the stage clapping and laughing and pulled her back to the table. Troy followed and sat down.

"That was amazing! You girls had that planned, didn't you?" Kyle asked as the girls giggled. "I do believe you just beat Troy Bolton at his own game!"

"Yeah, Troy," Mike agreed. "It looks like you might have some new competition."

"I was thinking more along the lines of partner in crime," Troy said. "What do you say?" He held his hand out to Gabriella.

She smiled. "Deal," she said shaking his hand as the laughter and chatter returned to the table.

* * *

Gabriella was putting her dishes from lunch in the sink when she heard the familiar sound of a dribbling basketball. She walked outside as her best friend pretended to dodge and spin around imaginary opponents. "He shoots, he scores!" Troy exclaimed as the ball swished through the hoop.

"And the crowd goes wild!" Gabriella said from behind him mimicking the sounds of an ecstatic crowd.

"Oh hey, Bri!" Troy said as he turned around. "I didn't see you there."

"Do you do anything but play basketball anymore?" she asked him.

"I have to if I want to make the team. My dad says high school tryouts are harder than middle school."

"Troy, everyone makes the team freshman year. They have an entire freshman team."

"Who said anything about the freshman team? I'll be the first freshman to make varsity." He winked at her as he took another shot. It bounced off the backboard and right to Gabriella. She shot the ball perfectly through the hoop.

"You're lucky it's not a co-ed team," she joked as she picked the ball up again. "Otherwise you'd lose your varsity spot to a girl!"

He snatched the ball from her. "Ha ha. Funny." They played an intense game of one on one before Gabriella plopped herself down in the grass. Troy took one last shot and followed suit. He laid back next to her and put his hands behind his head. "So, only two more weeks until we start high school. Are you ready?" he asked.

"Of course. The question is, are they ready for us?" she asked and turned her head to look at him.

He grinned at her. "They have no idea what they are in for." They laid in silence for a few moments before he suddenly sat up. "I'm thirsty. Let's go get some lemonade." They went inside Gabriella's house. He sat at the bar while she poured two glasses. Just as she sat down to join him Rusty burst excitedly through the front door.

"You're in a good mood," Gabriella commented to him.

"That's because I have some good news. I just got an amazing job offer!" he exclaimed.

"Rus, that's great! How soon do you start?" she asked.

"A week from tomorrow," he answered. He lost his smile and got serious. "Gabs, there is a downside to this job."

"What's that?" she asked nervously.

"It's in Phoenix... Phoenix, Arizona."

Her eyes widened as she exchanged worried looks with Troy. She sighed. "When do we leave?"

"Friday."

That gave her five days. Suddenly she wasn't so excited for the summer to end and school to start.

Thursday evening the gang was celebrating their last night together at the pizza parlor arcade. Gabriella was staring at her glass, stirring the ice in circles with her straw.

"Bri? Hello?? Earth to Bri," Troy said as he waved his hand in front of her face. She snapped out of her trance and back into reality. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking," she said.

"About what?"

"A new place, new school. Starting over again from scratch."

"I don't remember you having any difficulty making new friends when you moved here," Troy said winking at her.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah if I'm lucky I'll have some conceited jock living next door to give me a warm welcome."

"Hey!" he said and pretended to pout as everyone laughed.

"So are you guys gonna confess your love for each other before you go?" Hillary asked with a sly smile.

"You know what they say," Beth added, "absence makes the heart grow fonder."

Troy and Gabriella groaned. "Not again," she said. "Why won't you two just give it up?"

"Why won't you two just admit it?" Josh asked.

"What? You're in on this now too?" Troy asked.

"Hey, I just call it like I see it," Josh answered.

"Come on, Bri," Troy said standing up and grabbing her hand. "We only have an hour left and we don't need to spend it listening to their gibberish."

The hour flew by and before she knew it Gabriella was saying goodbye to her friends in the parking lot. "Bye Gabs," Beth said hugging her. "Call us when you get there."

"We're gonna miss you," Hillary said giving her a hug as well.

"School sure won't be the same without you," Josh added. Gabriella hugged the rest of her friends and she and Troy got in his mom's car. When they got home Troy walked her to the door.

"I'll see you in the morning?" he asked.

She nodded and gave him a hug. "Troy?" she called after him as he started to walk away. He turned to face her. "Stay with me tonight?" she asked.

He nodded. "Let me go tell my mom and take a shower."

Gabriella walked inside and took a look at the empty house. The moving company had come the day before and loaded all their stuff up in the truck and began hauling it off to Arizona. Rusty had left that morning to sign the papers for their new house and meet the movers to help unload. All that remained in the house were two bar stools, a few of her clothes and an air mattress in her room. Rusty had agreed to let her stay by herself for the night and have Mary and Troy take her to the airport the next morning. She walked into the bathroom started the shower and got undressed. Once the water was warm enough she stepped in and let it cascade over her body. Knowing Troy would be coming soon she quickly washed herself and shut the shower off. She toweled herself dry and went into her bedroom thinking about leaving the next day. She put on her matching black boy cut panties and spaghetti strap tank top. She was lost in thought about to step into her long flannel pants when Troy walked in.

"My mom made some of your favorite cookies," he said as he walked down the hall. "And I brought-" he stopped short when he reached her room and realized he had walked in on her half dressed. He knew he should turn away and give her privacy, but he couldn't help but stare. He was suddenly seeing his best friend in a new light. _My God she's gorgeous_, he thought. After he had looked her up and down and taken in every square inch of her, his gaze went back to her face. She gave him a questioning look. He blushed and turned away, embarrassed of being caught and worried what she might think.

"No wonder Beth and Hillary have their little theories," she joked.

"I... uh... you see... I mean... uh..." _What's wrong with you Bolton? It's just Gabriella, _he thought. _Just say sorry and walk away._ "Sorry," he said softly and began to walk out of her room.

"Troy," she said smiling at him as he turned around. She crossed the room to stand in front of him. "It's fine. No reason to start acting weird. I mean friends don't care about stuff like that, right?"

His heart sank at the word friends. What the heck was wrong with him? Why was he suddenly feeling so strange? "Right," he agreed. As she started to step into her flannel pants again something came over him. "Bri?" She looked up at him. _What are you doing?_ he thought as he took a step closer to her. He cupped her face in his hands. _Don't do it, Troy._ All his thoughts flew out the window as he lowered his lips to hers. He felt her tense up and began to pull away.

Gabriella was shocked. Her best friend was kissing her. She didn't know what to do. This was so weird. _But oh so right_, she thought as he started to pull away. She closed her eyes and gave into the kiss wrapping her arms around his neck after dropping her pajama pants on the floor. Troy gently brushed his tongue across her lips. She opened her mouth and his tongue plunged in, twisting and tangling with hers. His hands dropped to her lower back and pulled her closer to him as his kisses traveled across her cheek to nibble on her ear. He kissed his way down to the crook of her neck where a soft moan escaped her lips. His hands made their way under her shirt and roamed until they reached her breasts. She gently ran her hand through his hair and pulled his head back.

Troy had a worried look on his face thinking maybe he had gone to far, but when their eyes met Gabriella's were full of fire and passion. "Troy, please," she begged huskily. She reached down and undid his shorts, letting them fall to his ankles. Her eyes met his again and she silently pleaded with him to finish what he had started.

He lifted her tank top over her head and plunged his lips to hers again, backing her up and lowering her onto the air mattress. On his knees straddling her, he all but ripped off his shirt and boxers. She shivered under his fingertips as he softly ran them down her body and pushed her panties down her legs to her ankles where she kicked them off. His hands lovingly caressed her legs all the way up to her inner thigh. He teasingly brushed over her warm center which was already moist with anticipation for him. She arched her back into him and moaned his name. Her body tensed as he began to enter her. He stroked her face and gently kissed her neck until she had taken all of him in. He paused hovering over her long enough for her to give him a small nod to continue. He began slowly moving in and out of her. As the pleasure overcame the pain she began moving her hips in rhythm with him. With her meeting him thrust for thrust, he sped his pace. He felt her walls tightening around him as his climax drew nearer. She wrapped her legs around his back and pulled him in tight as a tidal wave of passion overcame them both and he burst inside her. He collapsed out of breath next to her.

When their drumming hearts slowed down and their breathing steadied, Gabriella turned to him. "I love you, Troy," she said quietly.

Troy wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She belonged here in his arms, not in Arizona. He sighed and kissed her on the forehead. "I love you, too, Bri."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I got tons of hits, but only a few reviews. You guys have to let me know what you think. Is it worth continuing the story?**

**Also, I wanted to add that this might not be the most frequently updated story. Some people can crank out a chapter a day, but I can't. First of all, my chapters end up being longer than most other writer's chapters. Second of all, I have a two year old daughter and I'm due with baby #2 in November. As if that isn't enough, I am a full time college student. Why I felt like I had enough spare time to take on writing a story is beyond me. I think I might be crazy LOL. I'm aiming for a new chapter once a week. Thanks to anyone who sticks with me. **

**And please, if you read it, review it and let me know what you think. Good or bad.  
**

* * *

Gabriella's eyes fluttered open. Daylight poured in through her window. She looked down and saw Troy's arm draped across her stomach. She smiled as the events of the night before came flooding back to her. She glanced over at the clock and groaned. Seven thirty.

Troy stirred next to her and pulled her close to him. "That's exactly how I feel," he said and kissed her on the forehead. She nuzzled close to him for a few minutes before she sighed.

"Four hours," she mumbled.

"Huh?" he asked.

"Four hours," she said again. "That's when my plane leaves."

"Try not to think about that right now."

"I am, but it's not working very well. I'm just laying here staring at the ceiling thinking. What else am I supposed to do?"

"Love me," Troy whispered seductively as he began to nibble on her neck.

An hour later they had packed Gabriella's bag, deflated the air bed and brought it back to Troy's house. After his mother cooked them breakfast they headed off to the airport. Before she knew it, they were standing at her terminal waiting for the final boarding call to her plane.

Gabriella and Troy were standing in an awkward silence when she burst into tears. "This isn't fair, Troy! I don't want to leave. I want to stay here with you!"

He wrapped her in a hug. "Hey," he said softly. "It will be okay. It might not be so bad there. And I'll come visit you whenever I can. I promise."

"What if you get tired of it? What if you stop coming? What if we lose touch?"

"Do you seriously think a few hundred miles will do that? It's going to take a _lot_ more than that to get rid of me." He gently lifted her chin to look at him. "I love you, Bri."

"I love you, too, Troy." A voice came over the loud speaker announcing last call for her flight causing fresh tears to roll down her cheeks.

"It will be okay," he reassured her softly pulling her into a tight embrace and lightly stroking her hair. He gave her a soft kiss. "Call me as soon as you get there." She nodded. After one last hug she turned and walked to the desk. The woman tore the stub from her ticket. She glanced back at him and gave him a weak smile, her eyes full of tears.

After she had walked down the tunnel and out of sight, Troy walked to the window and sat down. He watched her plane taxi down the runway and as it lifted off a single tear silently rolled down his cheek.

Mrs. Bolton placed her hand on her son's shoulder. "Come on, Troy," she said quietly. She watched as he quickly wiped his cheek and got up pretending nothing was wrong. It killed her to see him like this. She knew he was going to be like this for a while. Just as she expected, when they got home he went straight to his room to sulk and sit by the phone waiting for her to call.

"Bri?" Troy asked anxiously as he answered the phone a few hours later.

"Hey, howd you know it was me?" Gabriella asked on the other end.

"He's been answering the phone that way all day," answered Mrs. Bolton who had answered the phone at the same time as Troy, making Gabriella giggle. "Glad to know you made it there safely. I'll let you two talk."

"So you've been waiting for me to call?" she asked him after his mom hung up.

"Well... I... yeah."

"You're so cute, you know that?"

Troy blushed. He didn't know what to say so he asked, "How was your flight?"

"Boring. Lonely."

"How's the new house?"

"Ridiculously big. Rusty went a little overboard knowing that he'd be making more money."

"Yeah, but think of all the new furniture to buy and decorating you'll get to do."

She sighed. "I guess so. It just isn't home."

"That's what you said when you moved here."

"Yeah, but I had you and the gang there. I have nothing here."

"You'll make new friends, Bri. You're amazing and it won't take long for everyone there to realize that."

"Thanks. I'm really tired. I'm gonna go to bed now, okay?"

"Alright. Call me tomorrow?"

"Of course. Goodnight, Troy."

"Sweet dreams, Bri."

It didn't take long at all for Gabriella to have the house painted and filled with furniture and other decor. She started her new school. Troy was right; she had no problems making friends.

* * *

One day about a month after she moved, Gabriella had just gotten home from school and gone up to her room to think. She was not having a good day and had a lot on her mind. Just as she plopped down on her bed the phone rang. She groaned and put a pillow over her head letting her answering machine pick up. It hadn't taken long for Rusty to realize that if he ever wanted to use the phone she needed her own phone line. She and Troy talked for hours every evening. She was surprised to hear Troy's voice on the other end of the line. She shot up and grabbed the phone shutting the answering machine off.

"Troy?" She answered worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong. I just wanted to talk to you," he said.

"Shouldn't you be in school?"

"Oh... I uh... I missed you so much I pretended to be sick so I could go home early."

She sighed as she got up and went into the kitchen to find a snack.

"What's wrong?" Troy asked her.

"It's just been a long day."

"What happened?"

"Nothing really. Just been one of those days," She lied as she groaned again. There was nothing to eat in her house.

"Don't give me that. What's wrong?"

She sighed. She might as well tell him. She would have to sooner or later. "I was just thinking," she started. "You know, we weren't very smart."

"What do you mean?" Troy asked confused.

"When you stayed the night before I moved," she said as her doorbell rang. She ignored it.

Troy's heart sank. She regretted it. Was she going to tell him she got caught up in the moment and she didn't really love him? Had she found someone else? "Bri, I'm sorry. I love you. I didn't mean to do something you didn't weren't ready for. I-"

"I mean we weren't very careful," she interrupted.

"But, Bri, I've never been with anyone but you. Don't worry, I don't have anything," he explained as her doorbell rang again.

"Troy, I'm pregnant," she blurted out as she reached the door. "What?!" she yelled as she flung the door open. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped when she found herself face to face with Troy, who had an expression that mirrored her own. They stood as still and silent as statues for a few moments before Gabriella fell into his arms and started to cry.

He led her inside shutting the door behind them and sat down on the couch pulling her into his lap. He slowly rocked back and forth and stroked her hair. "Shh. It's okay. Just calm down and talk to me. Everything will be alright. We can do this."

She looked up at him through red puffy eyes. "You mean you aren't mad?"

"Mad??" he laughed. "Bri, I'm relieved. I thought you were going to tell me you regretted it and didn't want to be with me or had found someone else. I'm surprised, nervous, confused, worried and a little excited, but not mad. I could never be mad at you for this. It takes two to tango, you know. I'm just as responsible for this as you are."

She smiled at him and let out a huge sigh of relief. "You are absolutely amazing, you know that?" she asked him as she kissed him softly on the lips. "I love you."

"Back atcha, babe!" She rolled her eyes at him. "So does anyone else know?"

She shook her head. "Just us."

"Do you know when it will be here?"

"I'm guessing mid to late may."

A comfortable silence fell over them for a few minutes before Troy broke it. "I have some news, too," he said. "Although it's not nearly as exciting _or_ surprising as yours."

"What's that?" she asked raising her eyebrow at him.

"The basketball teams were posted yesterday."

"And?"

"I made varsity!" he beamed. "I'm not starting like I had hoped, but at least I'm on the team. Only the second freshman in the history of the school to make varsity!"

"That's great, Troy! I knew you would!" She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

The front door opened and Rusty walked in holding some bags. "Hey guys!" he said. "Troy, I'm guessing these are your bags on the front step?"

"Oh yeah, sorry," he replied getting up to get them.

"No problem. The guest room is down the hall on the right. It's nice to see you. Glad you made it here safely."

Gabriella stared at him with wide eyes. "You mean you were in on this, too?"

"Um... surprise?" Rusty laughed. "I don't have much time. I have a business dinner tonight and will probably be home late. I just have to grab some sketches real quick and go. But hey, dinner tomorrow night?" As Gabriella and Troy nodded, Rusty ran into his office and grabbed some papers off the desk. "Great, I'll see you guys then," he said as he darted out the door.

"So when are we going to tell him?" Troy asked Gabriella while they ate dinner.

"Might as well get it over with. Tomorrow at dinner, I guess," she said with a shrug.

"How do you think he'll take it?"

She let out a heavy sigh. "I don't know."

They finished their dinner and watched a movie before heading to bed. "Goodnight, Troy," Gabriella said.

"Sweet dreams, Bri." They shared a quick kiss and went into their separate rooms.

Gabriella called her friend Carlie to let her know she wouldn't be at school the next day and would see her Monday then went to sleep.

The next day went by all too fast. Before they knew it they were setting the table waiting for Rusty to get home. Just as Gabriella was pulling the garlic bread out of the oven he walked through the door. After he changed they all sat down and ate heaping plates of spaghetti while making small talk. When they were done they leaned back in their chairs with full bellies. Gabriella caught Troy's eye. He nodded at her to tell her it was time.

"Rusty, I have to tell you something," she said quietly.

"What?" Rusty asked.

"Well, I don't really know how to say this, but I um... uh..."

"She's pregnant," Troy spat out.

"Gabs?" Rusty questioned, looking at her. She nodded. For what seemed like an eternity, Rusty didn't say anything. Finally he broke the silence. "By who?"

"Well you see," she started slowly.

"Don't beat around the bush, Gabriella. Is it Josh's? I know he had the hots for you." It was clear he was very angry and disappointed.

"No, it's not Josh's."

"Then who's is it?" She didn't say anything. "Answer me, Gabriella!" Rusty demanded. She looked at Troy with fear in her eyes not knowing what to say.

"Mine," Troy said softly. Rusty gave a questioning look to Gabriella who nodded. His glare turned to Troy. He had fire in his eyes.

"Go get your things, Troy," he said.

"What?" Troy asked.

"Go get your bags. It's time for you to go home."

"Rusty, no, please," Gabriella begged.

"And you," he said turning to her. "Say goodbye to Troy and go to your room." He got up and left the table.

She ran to her room in tears and buried her face in a pillow on her bed. She laid there for a few minutes when she felt Troy's hand on her back. "This isn't fair, Troy," she cried. "He wouldn't even give us a chance to talk to him about it."

"I know," Troy said. "Give him some time though. He's shocked and probably just reacting out of surprise and anger. He'll probably come around in time."

"And what if he doesn't?" she asked him.

Troy sighed. "I don't know, Bri. I don't know."

"Let's go, Troy!" Rusty yelled sternly from the living room.

Gabriella sat up and hugged him tightly. "Don't worry, it's going to be okay," Troy reassured her.

"It doesn't feel like it."

"Maybe not now, but in the end everything will be right. You have to trust me on this." He hoped he sounded more convincing than he felt. Gabriella nodded into his shoulder. He gently pushed her back to arms length and looked her in the eyes. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Troy." They shared a soft passionate kiss before he pulled away. He knew if he didn't leave now he wouldn't be able to and it would only cause more problems. He picked up his bags and walked out. After the front door closed she fell back onto her bed and began to cry again.

For the next week, Gabriella was in a daze. She went through the motions of life but was never really "there". Rusty had barely said anything to her and she hadn't heard from Troy, not that it was entirely his fault. She was sure that he had tried to contact her, at least she hoped so. Rusty had cut off her phone line, changed the number on the house phone and cut off all long distance calls. Why hadn't she just created that stupid e-mail account Troy kept telling her she needed? She had set one up a few days ago, but quickly realized it did her no good if she didn't have his e-mail address and he didn't have hers. She finished getting ready for her doctor's appointment just as she heard the cab honk from the driveway.

When she got there she felt extremely out of place. She was the youngest one in the waiting room by probably ten years. The receptionist gave her a dirty look along with the paperwork to fill out. She filled it out and gave it back to the woman then returned to her seat to awkwardly wait. She finally got called back and was taken to a room with an ultrasound machine.

"We need to do a vaginal sonogram to determine your due date. Undress from the waist down and lay on that table with your feet in the stirrups. Cover up with the paper drape," the nurse instructed pointing around the room as she spoke.

She did what she was told and waited. There was a knock on the door and a younger woman came in. She sat in front of the machine, turned it on and squirted lubricant jelly onto the end of the sonogram wand. She lifted the drape and less than gently inserted the wand causing Gabriella to flinch. She wiggled the wand around and silently watched the screen. She then picked up the phone and paged the doctor from his office. A few seconds later the doctor came in and glanced over the technician's shoulder at the screen. They exchanged glances and nodded. The woman removed the wand, lowered the drape, threw her gloves in the garbage and left the room.

"Is something wrong?" Gabriella asked worried.

"I'm sorry," the doctor said without emotion, "but your baby has no heartbeat." Her heart sank. She half listened and nodded as the doctor continued on about sending her to the hospital to have a procedure to have the tissue removed from her uterus.

Before she knew it, Gabriella was laying in a hospital bed waiting for a doctor to be available to perform the procedure. She was miserable. Not only was she all alone, but she felt like the hospital staff were judging her and treating her poorly. She pretended to be asleep with her back to the door when she heard a doctor and a nurse talking outside.

"What do we have here?" the doctor asked.

"Just another dumb teenager who's never heard of birth control," the nurse replied dryly.

Gabriella closed her eyes to try and shut the world out. She couldn't help but feel that she was losing all she had left of Troy.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Yes, I am aware that I suck and it has been just shy of forever since I updated and I apologize for taking so long. Things have been crazy around here and my toddler spilled (AKA dumped) a glass of water on my laptop and fried it. Anyways, now that I am back up and running it shouldn't be nearly as long between chapters. I know this one is short, but I wanted to get something out there before you all gave up on me. Let me know what you think. I hope you like it!**

**Oh, and in case anybody is wondering, baby #2 is here safe and sound and sleeping in my lap right now. :)  
**

* * *

_Alarms were going off. Gabriella sat straight up in bed and exchanged a frightened look with her friend before her mom burst through the bedroom door. "Girls get in the basement __**now!**__" she exclaimed grabbing the blanket off the bed. They all ran through the hallway and down the basement stairs. Jenny's mother ushered them into the closet under the stairs closing the door behind them and covered themselves up with the blanket. She could no longer hear the alarm over the howling winds. She could hear trees splintering and power lines exploding. After what felt like an eternity but was really only a minute or two, the winds died down and were replaced by an eerie silence. Afraid to leave the room, the three huddled together and fell asleep._

_A few hours later they awoke to the sound of radio static. Jenny's mom was trying to tune into a station to hear a weather report. "The worst tornado in the history of Ohio," a voice said as she found a working station. The announcer went on to say the bad weather had passed and it was now safe outside. She shut the radio off and opened the door. They went upstairs to survey the damage. She had no idea what time it was, but it was daylight out. There were some broken windows and the carpet was soaked. The nick-nacks that used to rest on end tables and shelves were strewn all over the room. Jenny's mom picked up the phone but quickly set it back on the hook. "Lines are dead," she said. "Let's take a drive around."_

_They went into the garage and loaded into the car. As they drove around Gabriella looked out the windows. Everything was torn apart. She wasn't paying much attention to where they were going when she stopped recognizing things. Her stomach flipped. She had lived in this town her entire life and she couldn't recognize anything. Cars, trees, signs, and remnants of buildings were all over the place. Flashing lights out the front window caught her eye. Jenny's mother put the car in park and got out. After talking to the police officers and fire fighters they nodded and she returned to the car. Putting it in drive again the car slowly crept forward. The police officers moved the road blocks to let them through and one squad car followed them. About a half a mile down the street they stopped._

_"Where are we?" Gabriella asked looking around. Everything had been leveled to the ground. She couldn't make a single thing out._

_A sad look came over Jenny's mother's face. "Your house," she said quietly._

The sound of the doorbell jolted Gabriella awake. She sat up in her chair rubbing her neck. She had fallen asleep at her desk again. It never failed, every time she fell asleep now she was plagued with memories of that day.

Gabriella sighed and closed her textbook. It had been a little over two months since her miscarriage. She had completely withdrawn from her friends. They just didn't understand, or at least they wouldn't, had she told them what happened, she was sure of it. She threw herself into her schoolwork. When she got home from school her time was spent studying, perfecting her academic skills and pushing herself ahead of the class. Rusty found romance in the office and couldn't be happier. He spent most of his time out with his girlfriend Renee. When he was home he was back to his old self acting like nothing had ever happened and Troy had never existed. He was constantly trying to cheer her up or get her to go out. He said it wasn't normal for a teenage girl to be holed up in her room with her nose stuck in school books.

It was the day before Thanksgiving. Gabriella was not looking forward to the holidays. It was really hitting her how little she really had. Sure she had material things and money. That's what happens when your family suddenly dies and you are the only one left to inherit everything. Between the life savings, insurance checks and selling of everyone's homes and belongings she was set for quite a while, even after giving some of it to Rusty.

Even though they had been raised as cousins, he wasn't officially a Montez. Her uncle met his mother when he was only a few months old. He raised Rusty as his own even though he was never able to officially adopt him because the biological father refused to sign over his rights. Rusty had received everything from his parents but legalities had come up with everyone else's estates. It was determined that everything would be left to the surviving family members, which meant Gabriella since Rusty wasn't a "real" Montez and they were the only two left. He had been in the middle of finals for the summer term at school and unable to make the family reunion. The rest of her family was caught in that awful tornado; at least the family that she knew. Gabriella had her mother's last name. Her father left her mother when she got pregnant and she had never met him or anyone in his family. A tear rolled down her cheek as she remembered the words that had shattered her life that dreadful day. "I'm sorry, sweetheart," the officer had told her, "no survivors were found." Until recently, she hadn't had one of those nightmares or thought too much about that day since, well, since she met Troy.

_Troy_, she thought as her attention shifted to the framed picture of the two of them sitting on her desk. She still hadn't heard anything from him and had given up hope that she ever would. She just didn't understand. She had truly thought that he loved her. She couldn't blame him for not calling after the changed phone numbers and blocked long distance, but he knew where she lived and he hadn't bothered to try to come see her again or even write a letter.

A knock on her bedroom door pulled her out of her thoughts and back into reality. "Gabs?" Rusty said stepping in. "Renee is here and she brought someone I want you to meet."

She nodded and smiled but inwardly groaned. How many times was he going to try and force new friends and potential boyfriends on her before he realized she wasn't interested? She was still in her school clothes so she just ran a hand through her hair to make herself look presentable and went into the living room where Rusty, Renee and a boy about her own age sat. He appeared to be mixed with light brown skin and brown eyes. His hair looked like it was usually kept short but was overdue for a buzz. It was starting to curl and go a little crazy.

Rusty stood up and ushered her over to the boy. "Gabriella, this is Renee's cousin Chad. Chad, this is my cousin Gabriella," he said. Without giving them time to say anything he added, "Well we are off to dinner and a movie. We'll be back later. You guys have fun." He grabbed Renee's hand and hurried out the door.

Chad groaned and Gabriella looked at him surprised. "I'm sorry," Chad said to her. "It's nothing against you, I promise. I'm just so tired of my cousin playing match maker. She thinks she's Cupid's messenger or something."

"Tell me about it!" Gabriella exclaimed. "Mine is the same way! No wonder they get along so well."

He laughed. They both relaxed and started to make small talk. Chad lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was visiting family in Phoenix for Thanksgiving. His parents were thinking of moving their business to Phoenix to be closer to family so Renee had taken it upon herself to introduce him to Gabriella so that if they did move he would have a friend. They were both turning 15 in December and in the ninth grade. He played basketball, baseball and ran track and field, but basketball was his favorite. Over the next few days they hung out everyday. Gabriella and Rusty spent Thanksgiving with Renee and her family. It wasn't the same as spending it with the Boltons like they had for the past two years, but she supposed it was better than spending it alone.

Saturday evening when Rusty and Renee got home from their date it was time for Gabriella and Chad to say their goodbyes. Renee was taking him home with her and he and his parents were heading back to Albuquerque the next morning.

"Well, I guess I'll see ya around," Gabriella said to him.

"Do you have an e-mail address?" Chad asked her. "I'd like to keep in touch. If that's okay with you, that is."

She perked up remembering the e-mail account she had created after Rusty kicked Troy out. "Yeah, actually I do," she said. "I wrote it down somewhere. Let me go find it." She ran into her room and shuffled through the papers in her desk until she found the one she had written the address on. She quickly got another piece of paper and copied it down, pausing for a moment as she remembered what it said. She went back into the living room and handed the paper to him.

"Bri?" he asked looking at it.

Gabriella sighed. She was hoping he wouldn't ask. "It's a nickname from an old friend," she said softly looking down. "Please, don't call me that, though," she added looking back up at him.

Chad could see the hurt in her eyes. He was willing to bet there was more to the story, but he wasn't going to press the issue. He just nodded and put the paper in his pocket. "I'll write to you when I get home tomorrow night," he said.

"Oh good. That gives me some time to figure out how to check the darn thing," she laughed.

"You don't know how?"

"I'm not the most computer savvy. Besides, I never needed to until now."

Renee walked out of Rusty's room and into the living room. "Let's go, Chad," she said.

"Alright," he answered. "Talk to you later, Gabriella."

"See ya, scruffy," she joked, rustling his hair.

He grinned. "Don't worry. It's getting buzzed again this week."

"Bummer. I kinda like it. You should grow it out."

"And have an afro? No way!" he laughed.

"Chad," Renee said impatiently from the front door.

"I'm coming! Bye, Gabriella!" he said walking towards the door.

"Bye, Chad!" she said. After he left she went into her room and sat down at her desk. "Time to figure you out," she said to her laptop as she turned it on. After an hour and only a few frustrated profanities, she had figured out how to check her e-mail. She turned it off and went to bed with a proud smile on her face.

* * *

Just like he said, Chad sent Gabriella an e-mail when he got home the next night. Over the next week they wrote back and forth many times before he convinced her to download instant messenger. After she figured out how to use it, Chad finally worked up the nerve to ask her the question he had been wondering about.

**WildcatChad:** So if you don't like the nickname Bri, why do you use it?  
**ItsMeBri:** Well I created the e-mail to keep in touch with the friend who gave me that nickname.  
**WildcatChad:** I though you didn't know how to use your e-mail?  
**ItsMeBri:** I didn't. I created it and then never used it until now.  
**WildcatChad:** Couldn't figure it out before?  
**ItsMeBri:** We ended up losing contact suddenly so I never had a chance to give my address to him.  
**WildcatChad:** ooooh! So this mystery friend is a guy?  
**ItsMeBri:** I wouldn't really consider him a friend anymore  
**WildcatChad:** fighting?  
**ItsMeBri:** no. Let's just say he really let me down when I needed him most.  
**WildcatChad:** What a jerk! If I ever meet him I'll pummel him for you.  
**ItsMeBri:** Somehow I doubt your paths will ever cross  
**WildcatChad:** Well, just to be sure you better tell me his name ;)  
**ItsMeBri:** I don't really want to talk about it anymore  
**WildcatChad:** Ok. I'm sorry if I was too pushy.  
**ItsMeBri:** It's alright.  
**WildcatChad:** So why didn't you use a new name for messenger?  
**ItsMeBri:** Well, I may be a genius and all, but my memory is terrible. I didn't want to have to remember another name. LOL

They chatted for a little while longer before he signed off and went to bed. Gabriella leaned back in her chair. That was the first time she had talked to anyone about Troy since everything had happened. It had been three months since Rusty took him to the airport and she still hadn't heard anything from him. She was thinking about the time she and Troy were on his computer on the instant messenger with a few other kids working on a group project for school when Troy's screen name suddenly popped into her head. Excitedly she added typed in TroyTheBBallBoy. She had butterflies in her stomach as her mouse hovered over the 'add buddy' button. She closed her eyes and clicked, hoping to hear the sound of a buddy signing on. Silence. Her heart sank. She didn't know whether to be sad, mad, relieved or anything else. Closing her computer she sighed and went to bed.

* * *

Christmas came and went. Every time Gabriella signed on her messenger and Troy wasn't online, she sank farther and farther into depression. By New Year's eve she was in such a funk that she didn't even stay up to watch the ball drop. The next morning she had a message waiting for her on her computer.

**WildcatChad:** Not up yet? Well, I'm hitting the courts for a while, but I'll talk to you later.

She smirked. That boy was forever playing basketball. _Just like Troy_,she thought. As if on cue, the sound of a buddy signing on rang in her ears and a notification popped up in the corner of her screen. Gabriella froze. It was Troy. He had actually signed on. This was her chance. She thought about what to write. She could ask him why he hadn't tried to contact her, tell him how much she missed him and that she still loved him, tell him about losing the baby, tell him off, anything. Just as she was about to click on his name and start typing, a window popped up.

**WildcataChad:** Happy New Year! Another year and all it holds is behind us.

Chad was right. It was time for a fresh start with the new year. She needed to put the past behind her and start anew. She went back to her buddy list, highlighted Troy's name and hit delete.


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow, tons of hits and only ONE review. :( Thanks to the one person who DID review. YOU ROCK! (although I'm sure you already knew that!) Reviews rock my socks and make my world go 'round and a little more love this chapter would be nice.**

**Anyways, I am super proud of myself for getting out TWO chapters in less than a week. This one isn't very eventful. It takes place over the course of a year. It ends almost four years after the story started, so quite a bit of time has passed in only a few chapters. I hope everyone has been able to keep up with the timeline. If anyone is confused just let me know and I'll explain it better.  
**

* * *

Gabriella sighed as she tossed the remote onto the coffee table. There was nothing on TV and she was bored. Weeks had gone by and basketball season was now in full swing. That meant no internet chats with Chad because he spent all afternoon and evening after school at practice and then was so tired when he got home he often went straight to bed. He even spent most of his weekends at the gym working out to stay in optimum shape. At first she was impressed that Chad's team was known for being one of the best in the state. Now she was annoyed because she had nothing to do now that her only friend didn't have time to talk to her. She was going to be so happy when the season ended and she had her friend back. She wanted to go somewhere but didn't know where to go and didn't have a ride. At 15 she was too old to ride her bike everywhere, but too young to drive.

Just as she was about to go to her room she heard Rusty come in the kitchen through the garage. She walked in to greet him and saw he was studying a letter in the stack of mail he was holding.

"Anything for me?" she asked him casually sitting across from him on a stool at the island in the center of the room. She had applied for a summer program for high schoolers at the local community college and was expecting to hear from them any day.

"No," he said suspiciously shoving the letter in the middle of the pile and turning to walk out.

Gabriella got up and followed him playfully trying to grab the stack of mail. "You sure about that?" she teased.

Rusty stopped in his tracks and turned to face her. "I said no. Unless you want to pay the bills around here, there is nothing for you," he snapped before turning and walking out of the room.

_What the heck is his problem? _She wondered to herself. _He must be having trouble with Renee._ A few days later, Gabriella got her acceptance letter in the mail and Rusty went back to his normal self.

* * *

It just so happened that a few months later both Gabriella and Chad had spring break the same week and it was a bye week for Chad's team. The team had decided to have practice in the mornings and have the afternoon and evenings off. That Monday Gabriella was excited to finally have a real chat with her friend. After sleeping in late, she woke up and quickly ate lunch before signing onto the computer. Seeing that Chad wasn't on yet she got dressed, brushed her teeth and started straightening up her room before she heard him sign on. Before she even had a chance to sit down he sent her a message.

**WildcatChad:** Definitely the WORST day EVER!  
**ItsMeBri:** What happened? Are you okay? Did something happen at practice?

Ever since he told her how intense his team practices were she was always worried he was going to get hurt.

**WildcatChad:** No practice, just a team meeting  
**ItsMeBri:** and...?  
**WildcatChad:** Remember how I told you coach went on a mini vacation a few weeks ago?  
**ItsMeBri:** um... sure.  
**WildcatChad:** Well it was no vacation. He was looking for his replacement.  
**ItsMeBri:** replacement?  
**WildcatChad:** He's retiring and moving to Florida after this season!  
**ItsMeBri:** okay...? I don't get the big deal.  
**WildcatChad:** the big deal is that we have a reputation to uphold. How is a new coach going to be able to know what we are capable of, how we work together, and keep us at the top? Especially losing all of our seniors!  
**ItsMeBri:** Well can't your assistant coach do all that?  
**WildcatChad:** He doesn't want to be head coach. He just wants to be the assistant. Not as much responsibility, not so many hours. Coach found someone to take his place, I think he's is going crazy in his old age.  
**ItsMeBri:** Why do you say that? It really can't be that bad.  
**WildcatChad:** The new guy has never coached before! Not a high school, not a middle school, not even a rec team. NEVER! Coach only chose him because we are losing all our best players after graduation and he's got some all star son. If coach didn't hire him to take his place they were going to move into West High district and he would play for the Knights.  
**ItsMeBri:** Had your coach ever done you guys wrong?  
**WildcatChad:** Not until now  
**ItsMeBri:** Then I doubt he will now. Just trust his judgment. Every new coach has to get their start somewhere. He went and checked him out and he saw something he liked. Do you think he would trust you guys to just anyone?  
**WildcatChad:** No, I guess not.  
**ItsMeBri:** Exactly. So just give your coach and the new guy a chance before you decide your championship team has gone down the drain.  
**WildcatChad:** You're right, as usual.  
**ItsMeBri:** Of course I am! ;)

They chatted for hours before they took a break for dinner. After dinner they chatted again for a little while before Chad went to bed. He wanted to be well rested for practice the next day. The new coach and his son were going to be there. Gabriella sat back and sighed, once again left with nothing to do. After being lost in thought and boredom for quite a few minutes, she decided that the next morning she was going to go out and find herself a hobby.

* * *

Gabriella awoke to the sound of her alarm clock buzzing and groaned. She hit the snooze button and rolled over before she remembered the task that lay ahead of her. She quickly got up and got herself ready to go before walking the three blocks to the bus stop and catching a bus downtown. Once she was there she decided to start at the library. She picked out a few novels then headed to the how-to section. After browsing for a while, she decided on knitting. It seemed fairly easy and if it didn't work out, she wouldn't be losing a big investment. Next she headed to the craft store to buy the supplies she needed. She was excited to see all the different things they had in there. If the knitting didn't work out she could certainly find another hobby here.

After purchasing the needles and yarn, she continued to walk through the historic downtown village and look in the windows of all the shops. She stopped in a little cafe for lunch before heading back home.

Looking at the clock she realized that Chad should be home already, so she signed on to her computer. A window instantly popped up.

**WildcatChad:** Where have you been? Usually you are already on and waiting for me.  
**ItsMeBri:** I went out.  
**WildcatChad:** Out? You, Gabriella Montez, went OUT?!?! Wow, there's one for the record books!  
**ItsMeBri:** Oh hush! I realized how lame and boring my life is last night so I decided I needed to pick up a hobby and I went out this morning to find one.  
**WildcatChad:** So did you find one?  
**ItsMeBri:** Yep! I'm going to start knitting!  
**WildcatChad:** WOO-WEE! That's gonna add tons of excitement to your 'lame and boring' life! How will you be able to contain yourself?? LMAO  
**ItsMeBri:** lol! Well I wanted to start with something simple. I'm fixin to get it out right now and start while were talking.  
**WildcatChad:** Yer fixin to? LOL! How long has it been since you moved from the backwoods into civilization?  
**ItsMeBri:** It wasn't the "backwoods" it was rural Ohio  
**WildcatChad:** same difference  
**ItsMeBri:** And if all you're gonna do is poke fun of me, I'm gonna leave you to be bored while I have a thrilling time learning to knit:P  
**WildcatChad:** Poke fun? lol Well I guess you can take the girl out of the country but you can't take the country out of the girl.  
**ItsMeBri:** That's right and don't you forget it! Just wait until I get my driver's license.  
**WildcatChad:** Oh yeah? And why is that?  
**ItsMeBri:** Just you wait and see. So how was practice today?  
**WildcatChad:** It was okay. A pretty easy day. We got out a little early, although you wouldn't have known because you were out on the town.  
**ItsMeBri:** lol So how were the new guy and his bball star kid?  
**WildcatChad:** ehh... They just watched today to 'get a feel' for our team. Tomorrow he is actually going to run the practice and the kid will play.  
**ItsMeBri:** That should be fun. Just be easy on them. It's their first day.  
**WildcatChad:** No way! I'm gonna show them what the wildcats are all about!

The next day Gabriella sat at her desk knitting a scarf waiting for Chad to get online. He was taking forever. She was about to give up and find something else to do when he finally signed on.

**ItsMeBri:** It's about time you got on!  
**WildcatChad:** Believe it or not, I JUST got home from practice!  
**ItsMeBri:** New coach run practice over a little bit?  
**WildcatChad:** A little? Try an hour and a half!!  
**ItsMeBri:** Well other than that, how was he?  
**WildcatChad:** Oh man! He is a complete nutcase! He had us running laps and doing all sorts of drills and exercises. I thought I was going to die and that was just the warm up! If even ONE person got out of rhythm, fell behind or messed up he blew his whistle and made us start all over again! All the while he was barking orders at us and telling us to do better and try harder. I swear if I hear that stupid whistle again I'm going to go crazy! And his damn kid, he didn't seem the least bit phased by it all.  
**ItsMeBri:** I guess you all really showed them what the wildcats are all about! LMAO  
**WildcatChad:** ha ha ha. Funny. It was insane. Like friggin basketball boot camp! I can't wait until they leave tomorrow night. I have so much extra personal training and working out to do to be ready when they come back for good this summer.  
**ItsMeBri:** You mean you'll be even busier than you are now? Great. Looks like I'm gonna need a few more hobbies.

* * *

Over the next few months, Gabriella picked up scrap booking, sewing and gardening. When it came time for her to register for the programs she wanted to take at the college for their summer program she couldn't make up her mind. When she applied it seemed a no brainer that she would be doing the mathematics, general science and interactive physics. Now she was thinking of taking pottery, beginner's wood shop, cake decorating or baking. She was really enjoying all the crafty things she was learning to do and wanted to learn more, but she knew the academic programs would be the wiser choice for college applications. She finally decided to take pottery, wood shop, cake decorating and interactive physics. That way she had some fun stuff to do and one that would look good on applications. After all, summer was about having fun and taking a break from school right?

The summer flew by and before they knew, Chad and Gabriella found themselves about to start their sophomore year of high school.

**WildcatChad:** Well, tomorrow is our last day of freedom. What are you planning on doing with yourself?  
**ItsMeBri:** I have a couple tops to finish and Rusty's birthday cake to do.  
**WildcatChad:** With all the sewing, decorating, knitting and pottery and such you are turning into a real Martha Stewart. LOL  
**ItsMeBri:** Don't laugh. It's fun AND saves money. This summer I have sewn myself an entire new wardrobe for less than $100.  
**WildcatChad:** It's easier just to pay more at the clothing store  
**ItsMeBri:** Maybe so, but my clothes are cuter and one of a kind. I bet you'll be glad when you need something of yours sewn. So what are you doing tomorrow?  
**WildcatChad:** My buddy Zeke is throwing his annual end of summer pool party for the team. We voted for team captain today and coach is gonna announce it there.  
**ItsMeBri:** Who do you think it's gonna be?  
**WildcatChad:** The all star son of course. He's the only sophomore in the history of the school to make starting varsity. It's not like it's a surprise or anything, but coach insisted on waiting until tomorrow to announce it.  
**ItsMeBri:** You think you'll have a good season?  
**WildcatChad:** Definitely! Nobody else stands a chance against us.  
**ItsMeBri:** and to think that only a few months ago you were certain your team didn't have a chance with this guy.  
**WildcatChad:** Yeah well, he's not so bad once you get used to him and his kid sure can play. I'll bet he has colleges fighting over him by the end of the season.  
**ItsMeBri:** Well you have fun tomorrow at the party. I'm gonna hit the hay. I'll talk to you tomorrow night.

* * *

In December they both turned 16 and got their driver's licenses. Originally Gabriella had said she was going to buy a little used car. Nothing special, just something to get her from point a to point b. Right before Christmas she decided that she was going to splurge and buy herself something she really wanted. With all the inheritance money just sitting in the bank collecting interest, she had more than enough to buy any car she wanted and would still have plenty leftover for college and a large down payment on a house.

A few days before new years she decided to pay Chad a surprise visit. She got up early and drove the six hours to his house. She arrived there at about noon. She parked and nervously walked to his front door. Even though they talked almost everyday, it had been over a year since she had actually seen him. Since the last year's Thanksgiving when they first met. She rang the doorbell and waited for an answer. When the door opened she looked up and was face to face with Chad, who had grown his hair out and now had wild bushy curls.

"Gabriella??" He asked, eyes wide open in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd pay my best friend a visit," she said softly. She was suddenly feeling very shy.

"I can't believe it!" he said. He looked at her for a few more seconds before grabbing her and wrapping her in a huge hug. "It's so great to actually see you again!"

Catching his enthusiasm, she hugged him back. "What happened with the hair?" she asked him ruffling the curls with her hand after they pulled apart. "I thought you said there's no way you'd have an afro."

"Well somebody told me they thought it would look good grown out, so I thought I'd give it a try," he said with a wink. "And it turns out that I like it and so does everyone else."

"Hmm. Whoever told you that must have good taste!" she teased.

"Here, come in!" he said moving to the side and ushering her in.

"Actually, have you eaten yet? I thought we could go get lunch or something. We can take my new baby," she said grinning.

For the first time Chad looked past Gabriella and at the vehicle parked on the street in front of his house. His jaw dropped.

"Holy cow! That thing is a beast!" he exclaimed. Gabriella had decided on a brand new forest green Ford F-250 diesel pickup truck, but she didn't stop there. It was sitting under a six inch suspension lift on 44 inch tires. She had custom chrome detailing in the form of bumpers, a brush guard, smoke stacks, roll bar, step bars, rims, dual exhaust pipes, and door handles. The words on her back window read 'This is NOT my boyfriend's truck.'

"What the heck do you do with that thing in Phoenix?" he asked her.

"Nothing really, just drive it around," she said. "But you were right. You can take the girl out of the country but you can't take the country out of the girl." Chad continued to stare before she added, "Are we going or not?"

"Yeah, yeah" he said. "Mom, I'm going out to lunch. Be back in a little while," he shouted before shutting the door behind him. Once he figured out how to climb in he began to buckle his seat belt and jumped at the roar of the exhaust when she started the engine. Gabriella laughed and started to drive following the directions he was giving her.

After lunch they headed back to Chad's house and went up to his room. He started showing her his yearbooks and pictures of his other friends.

"Here are my pictures from Zeke's party a few months ago," he said pulling an envelope out of his desk drawer. "That's me, Zeke and Jason," he said pointing to each guy. "This is Mike and Rob. Oh, here is me, Coach and Troy," he continued handing her the pictures.

Gabriella froze. It couldn't be, could it? Of course it was. She would recognize those piercing blue eyes anywhere. She was staring at none other than Troy Bolton and his father. She couldn't believe it. Troy? _Her_ Troy was the all star basketball boy she had been hearing about for months now? Not that she doubted his skills, she knew he was an amazing player, but Troy? In New Mexico? On Chad's team?

"Gabriella?" Chad asked trying to get her attention. "Earth to Gabriella!"

"Huh?" She asked blinking herself back into reality.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. Just a little dizzy spell. Can I have a glass of water?" she asked.

Chad nodded and led her downstairs to the kitchen where he fixed her a drink. "How about we watch a movie before you have to go?"

"Sure." They went into the living room and settled on the couch. After the movie ended it was time for Gabriella to leave so she could make it home without falling asleep at the wheel.

"Thanks for coming," Chad said after he walked her to her truck. "It was so great to see you."

"No problem," she answered giving him a hug. "I'll talk to you later?"

He nodded. "Drive safely." He took a step back as she hopped in and once again jumped at the sound of the exhaust. Laughing, Gabriella drove away.

* * *

Second semester started and flew by. Right after spring break Rusty and Renee asked Gabriella to dinner. They said they had something important to tell her. While waiting for their food to come out, Rusty spoke up.

"Gabs, we have something to tell you," he said. "As you know, our company is expanding. Renee and I have been given the opportunity to open and run our own branch anywhere we choose."

"That's great!" Gabriella exclaimed. "I'm up for a move. Where are we going?"

"What do you think of Albuquerque, New Mexico?" Renee asked.

She grinned. "That's where Chad lives!"

"We know," Rusty said winking at her. "I also thought that maybe Renee could live with us?" he added timidly.

"Sure! I could use another female around the house!"

Rusty let out a sigh of relief just as the waiter brought their food. The rest of the dinner they made small talk about the new branch opening and the move. They were moving right after her school year ended. She would have the whole summer to get to know people and make friends before starting at a new school in the fall.

When she got home she rushed into her room and signed onto the computer. Thankfully Chad was online.

**ItsMeBri:** OMG!! Guess what???  
**WildcatChad:** I take it the talk went well?  
**ItsMeBri:** Incredibly! Now guess!  
**WildcatChad:** I have no idea! What?  
**ItsMeBri:** We're moving to Albuquerque!  
**WildcatChad:** No way! Why?  
**ItsMeBri:** Rusty and Renee are opening their own branch of the company there. We move in June!  
**WildcatChad:** OMG! That's awesome!  
**ItsMeBri:** I know! I can't wait!  
**WildcatChad:** I can't wait for you to meet all my friends. And the guys. They will all love you!

The guys? Gabriella's stomach turned. He meant the basketball team. He meant Troy. She had been so caught up in living near Chad that she totally forgot Troy lived there now too. Suddenly she wasn't so excited about moving.


	5. Chapter 5

**Wow! I'm on a roll! Three chapters in a week! Don't expect them all to come quite this fast lol. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I think that was my motivation to keep writing, so if you want more chapters make sure to leave me some love! Enjoy!  
**

* * *

"See ya in a few hours!" Renee yelled to Gabriella as she drove away. The school year was over. They had just loaded up the last of their things and were starting the drive to Albuquerque. Gabriella was full of anxiety. By that afternoon she would be living in the same town as Troy. That fall she would be attending the same school as Troy. The only friend she had in Albuquerque was also friends with Troy. There was no way she could avoid seeing him again.

And then there was Chad. Things had taken a turn with him. About a week before, he had confessed to her that he liked her as more than a friend and the only reason he hadn't asked her out was because of the distance. He had asked her if it was possible for them to become something more when she moved. She didn't know what to say. Troy hurt her so badly. She loved him so much and he left without even a backward glance. She didn't know if she was ready to try again or if she could handle a relationship, especially when she knew she was going to have to face Troy sooner or later - hopefully later. She explained all of that to Chad, omitting Troy's name, and told him she would think about it but she knew he was expecting an answer when she got there. If only she could come up with one.

Gabriella found herself parking on the street in front of her new house. How had she gotten here? Had it been six hours already? She was so deep in thought that the drive was a total blur. She hopped out of her car and walked up the walkway and in the front door.

"Rusty," she called. "Your baby is here! And don't worry, I only kicked up a few rocks. I'm sure the dents and broken windshield will be easy to fix!"

Rusty came running down the hall and into the living room. "What???" he asked frantically.

She laughed. He reluctantly drove the moving truck down the night before and had her tow his 1967 Corvette when she came. He was completely paranoid that her big tires would kick up rocks and something would happen to his 'baby' on the drive. "I'm just kidding Rus," she said. "She's out on the street waiting for you."

Gabriella walked into the kitchen and dialed Chad's number on the phone. "Hey I'm here," he said when he answered the phone.

"Great! Some of the guys are here and they are gonna come and help, too.I'll see ya in a few!" he said and hung up the phone.

The guys? When she asked him to help them move their stuff in bringing the guys wasn't part of the deal. She paced the kitchen waiting for them to come. He only lived a couple blocks away so there was a knock on the door within minutes. She walked to the front door and closed her eyes as she opened it. When she opened them Troy was nowhere to be found. She let out the breath she didn't realize she had been holding.

Chad burst through the door and gave her a big bear hug. "Oh Gabriella, I'm so glad you're here!" he said as he spun her around.

"I can't breathe!" she said pretending to gasp for air.

"I'm sorry," he said setting her back on the ground and letting her go. "I just can't believe it. This is _your_ house. _You_ live here. Only a few minutes from my house. Just-"

"Dude," a talk dark skinned guy interrupted from the doorway. "I think she gets the point."

Chad turned to the guys in the doorway. "Guys,_this_ is Gabriella. Gabriella, this is Zeke, Jason and Jake," he said pointing to each guy as he said their name.

"Hey guys," Gabriella said offering a smile. "Come on in." She showed them around and told them what each room would be before they went outside to star unloading the moving truck. Rusty had just finished pulling his car into the garage and Renee was just pulling up. After a round of introductions, the girls started putting post-it notes on each piece while the guys carried it off the truck and into the room labeled on the note. Hours later the truck was empty and everything was in the house. The guys went home and after eating dinner Gabriella unpacked all her clothes. When she was done she got online.

**ItsMeBri:** Hey, thanks for your help today. Give the guys my thanks, too.  
**WildcatChad:** no problem, thats what friends are for, right? Why don't you tell the guys yourself? The team is going to the pool tomorrow for a water workout. You should come.  
**ItsMeBri:** I would, but there's still so much to do around here, you know?  
**WildcatChad:** Yeah

She was so glad she had an excuse not to go. She wasn't ready to face Troy yet. In fact, she had decided to put if off as long as possible. She was just wondering how long her excuses would last before she had no choice but to face him. When she turned her attention back to the computer she realized there was a lull in the conversation. That could only mean one thing.

**WildcatChad:** sooo... have you thought about it at all?

There it was. She should have known it was coming.

**ItsMeBri:** yeah, a little bit  
**WildcatChad:** and?  
**ItsMeBri:** Well I like you, Chad, I do. It's just... I don't know. My ex, he really hurt me and I just don't know if I'm ready for a relationship again or not.

She hit enter to send it to him and closed her eyes, waiting for his response.

**WildcatChad:** oh

Poor Chad. He was such a nice guy and she hurt him. She just had to. She sat around wishing and waiting to hear from Troy and it was like he didn't even care. If she waltzed up to him with Chad on her arm it would be like_she_ didn't care and well-

_Wait a second_, she thought to herself. _If he can prance around without a care in the world, why couldn't she?_

**ItsMeBri:** But you know what? I'm willing to give it a try.  
**WildcatChad:** Wow! Way to leave a guy hanging! lol Wow. This is great. Um... thanks?

The next evening after practice Chad went to her house and they watched a movie,semi-cuddling on the couch. When it was time for him to go home Gabriella walked him to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked giving him a slightly awkward warm smile. He nodded and fidgeted with his keys. "Ok, well, umm, ok bye," she said and started to walk back inside.

"Gabriella, wait," Chad said. He took a step towards her as she quickly turned back to face him. Her forehead collided with his nose.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?" she asked worriedly. "I'm so sorry." She tried to pull his hands away from his nose.

"I'm fine," he said still holding holding it.

"Are you sure? Let me see."

He laughed. "I'm fine, see?" he said holding his hands up for her to see. She smiled softly as their eyes met. He held her gaze for a few moments before slowly leaning down to place a soft kiss on her lips. When he pulled away she smiled sweetly lightly biting her bottom lip. "Goodnight, Gabriella," he told her.

"Goodnight," she whispered before shutting the door.

* * *

A few days later Gabriella was at the craft store buying some fabric to make herself a new sun dress and trying to think of some excuses not to hang out with Chad's friends. It had only been a few days, but she was quickly running out. As she was at the register paying she saw a flier for sewing and pottery classes and other creative activities offered at the store._Perfect!_ she thought. She already knew how to do everything they offered, but signing up for them was the perfect way to keep herself busy so she didn't have to see Troy. They only lasted a month, but it was better than nothing. She signed up for every class they offered.

A few weeks later she was starting to worry. Her classes at the craft store were almost over and she couldn't think of any other excuses. After Chad left her house that evening she finished up her sun dress and got online. She was surprised to see him on. She thought for sure he would have been in bed already since he had practice early the next morning.

**ItsMeBri:** Hey babe. What are you doing up?  
**WildcatChad:** UGH. The stupid cat got closed in my room today and it used my bed as a litter box. I'm waiting for my sheets to dry.  
**ItsMeBri:** Nice... You're gonna be draggin ass at practice tomorrow.  
**WildcatChad:** I'm sure everyone will. It will probably be an easy day. Tomorrow is our last practice for two weeks. The Boltons are going on vacation.

_Oh thank God,_ she thought.

**ItsMeBri:** What will you do with yourself? You haven't had that much free time in a long time.  
**WildcatChad:** Yeah well I'm hoping my girlfriend can stop being Martha Stewart long enough to spend some time with me.  
**ItsMeBri:** Well It must be your lucky day I only have two classes left.  
**WildcatChad:** oh good! You can finally meet the rest of the guys.

The next week Gabriella hung out with Chad, the rest of the basketball team sans Troy and a few cheerleader girlfriends for three days straight. If she had to sit and listen to those ditsy girls and basketball talk one more day she was going to go crazy.

"Do you ever hang out with anyone besides the team and their girlfriends?" she asked him when he dropped her off at home.

"Not really," he replied. "Why?"

"Well, believe it or not, jocks aren't really my type. And the cheerleaders?" she groaned. "Don't even get me started on them! Don't you know any girls that well, have an ounce or two of sense?"

Chad laughed and thought for a moment. "Well, there is this one girl named Taylor. She was in my group for a project last semester. I could look and see if I still have her number. She's on the scholastic decathlon team so she's a brainiac like you."

"After listening to those girls for three days, I think I have dumbed down quite a few notches. My brain may have even turned to mush."

"Ha ha. Funny. I'll give her a call tonight."

"Thank you."

* * *

Luckily Chad still had her number. It took a lot of begging and pleading, but Chad convinced Taylor to come with them to the bowling alley the next day. Apparently jocks and cheerleaders weren't really her type either. Not that he was really surprised. She didn't even try to mask her displeasure when they were paired up for the project.

When they walked into the bowling alley the next day Chad spotted Taylor waiting at the shoe counter.

"You're late, Danforth," she said annoyed.

"We're here now, so unbunch your panties and relax," he replied rolling his eyes..

"Chad!" Gabriella exclaimed hitting him in the chest. "Ignore him. I'm Gabriella Montez."

"Taylor McKessie," she said extending her hand.

Gabriella shook her hand and rolled her eyes as Chad yelled at his teammates across the room and started to walk over to them. "Thank you so much for coming. I swear, yesterday at dinner I listened to the cheerleaders talk about the importance of firm nail beds for over an hour."

"And you managed to keep your food down?" Taylor joked.

"Barely. Apparently you are the only person with a brain that Chad knows."

"To be honest, I don't really know him. We aren't exactly in the same social circle."

"Well, you are now!" The girls got their balls and shoes and joined everyone else at their lane.

* * *

"Troy got home tonight so we're all meeting at his house for a boys versus girls basketball game. You girls up for it?" Chad asked Gabriella and Taylor as he was driving them home two weeks later.

"I guess it could be fun," Taylor shrugged. Gabriella dragged her along every time they hung out which was pretty much every day. Not that Taylor really minded. She and Gabriella hit it off right away.

"Yeah, sure," Gabriella agreed with a sigh. She wasn't really planning on going. _I think I feel the flu coming on,_ she thought to herself.

The next morning she called Chad and told him she was sick and couldn't make it. There was only a week and a half before school started again. She could easily play the sick card with him for a few days and then come up with some other excuse to get her to the start of school without having to see Troy, although she had absolutely no idea what she was going to do after that.

* * *

A few days later later it was a Saturday morning and Chad made a surprise visit to Gabriella's house. When she answered the door he said "Are you hungry?"

"What?" she asked. "I'm still not really feeling that great and-"

"Bologna," he interrupted. "Get your bathing suit. We're going swimming at the rock quarry."

"Ok, fine," she gave in. She grabbed her bikini and a towel and hopped in his car. When they parked in front of a house she raised an eyebrow. "I thought we were going to the rock quarry?" she questioned.

"Did I say rock quarry? My bad! I meant Zeke's house for the end of summer team party," he said with a mischievous grin. "Come on!"

She was terrified as they walked around back to the pool where everyone was. Chad waved and nodded as everyone yelled their welcomes. A quick look around the deck put Gabriella at ease. Troy wasn't there. After a few minutes Gabriella decided to change into her bathing suit. When she came out of the bathroom connected to the pool deck she saw Taylor and Chad talking under the shade of the porch cover. She walked over to join them and stood watching everyone in the pool with her back to the house. She was just about to get in the pool when something behind her caught Chad's eye.

"Hey! Captain!" he shouted and walked past her.

_Captain?_ _Oh my God, oh my God,_ she thought starting to panic. What was she going to do?

"Hey babe," Chad called from behind her. She heard footsteps approaching her. "There's someone you need to meet." She slowly turned around and found herself face to face with a completely shocked Troy. "Gabriella, this is-"

"Bri?" Troy asked in astonishment.

Gabriella didn't know what to do._Say something,_ she thought. _Anything!_ Her mind was reeling and the world felt like it was spinning. She opened her mouth to say something, but instead everything went black.


	6. Chapter 6

**It's me again! That's right, I got another one done. The last part of this chapter had me stuck for a little while. I'm not completely thrilled with the way it turned out, but it will do. The next chapter might take a little while. I'm debating two different ideas and can't decide which I will use. Anyways, I'll get on with the show. **

* * *

"Gabriella. Gabriella," she heard a voice saying. "Wake up."

Gabriella's eyes fluttered open. She was laying down on a couch._ Oh thank God_, she thought. _It was just a dream._

_"_How are you feeling?" Chad asked her as he hovered over her. "Are you okay?"

"Um, yeah," she said slowly. She was a little confused. Why wouldn't she be okay?

"Here, sit up. Taylor got you some water," he said helping her sit up on the couch. Taylor put the water in her hand and she took a sip. She began to hand the bottle back to Taylor, looking up for the first time. There, right behind Taylor and Chad, stood Troy.

_Shit_, she thought. _It wasn't a dream._ She let go of the water bottle and it fell to the floor, water spilling everywhere. "Oops," she said embarrassed leaning over to try and pick it up.

"Just relax, hun," Taylor said. "We'll take care of it."

Gabriella looked back up at Troy. His face was filled with so many different emotions. Hurt, happiness, sadness, worry, and most of all confusion. They just stared at each other while Chad and Taylor soaked up the water with dish towels. When they were done they stood back up. Chad opened his mouth to speak, but Taylor silenced him with a wave of her hand. She motioned to him between Troy and Gabriella and raised an eyebrow. Chad shrugged letting her know he was just as confused as she was. The silence was starting to get awkward when Gabriella burst into tears. Chad quickly shot an extremely confused look at Taylor before turning to go to Gabriella and comfort her, but Troy had beaten him there.

The second she started to cry Troy rushed to Gabriella's side and pulled her into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and she buried her face into his chest while he rocked her and stroked her hair. "Shhhh," he whispered. "It's okay." He placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head.

"Woah," Chad said. "What is going on?"

"Do you guys know each other?" Taylor questioned. She was just as confused as Chad.

Troy looked up at them. "Bri was my... I used to... well we..." he stammered trying to find the right words. "Yeah, we know each other."

When he heard Troy call her Bri, Chad slowly started to understand.

Taylor, however, was still extremely confused. "How?" she asked.

Troy wasn't sure how much Gabriella had told them about their past, but judging by their complete confusion, he guessed it wasn't much. "Oh, we were neighbors," he answered, playing it safe.

_NEIGHBORS?!?!?_ Gabriella thought to herself. Suddenly the reality of the situation was catching up to her. This was the guy who left her alone. Completely abandoned her when she needed him the most. And here she was all cuddled up to him while he pretended to be her knight in shining armor comforting her. Her sadness and grief was quickly replaced with anger. She shoved herself off his lap and smacked him. Stunned, Troy held the side of his face with his hand. Chad's and Taylor's jaws dropped.

"Neighbors?!?!" she exclaimed. "Why don't you tell them the truth, Troy?"

"Well, I didn't-" he started.

"You _left_ me, Troy," she said bitterly. "I needed you and you abandoned me."

"What?? Bri, I-"

"Don't you dare call me that. You lost the right to call me that the day you walked out on me. Two years. _Two years_ I waited for you and never heard a word. Now you come prancing back into my life not knowing anything about the hell I have gone through and you act like nothing has changed?"

"But-"

"Save it, Troy. I don't want to hear it. You make me sick," she said in disgust turning on her heels to storm down the hall and out the front door slamming it behind her.

For a moment nobody moved. "What the hell just happened?" Troy wondered aloud, breaking the silence.

Chad just glared at him and shook his head before he followed the path Gabriella had taken and went outside to find her. It didn't take long. She was sitting on the curb at the end of the driveway with her head in her hands.

"Hey," he said softly as he sat down next to her. She leaned her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry, Chad," she said. "I should have told you a long time ago. It's just, I didn't know what to say or how you would take it. And I think I was trying to pretend that this wasn't going to happen, even though I knew it would eventually and-"

"Gabriella," he said with a kind smile as he lifted her chin to look her in the eyes. "It's okay. I promise. I'm not mad." She closed her eyes as he placed a light kiss on her lips. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked cautiously.

She shook her head. "Not yet. Can you just take me home?"

Chad nodded and helped her up. He walked her to the car and they rode to her house in silence.

* * *

"Gabriella,_ please_ just talk to him," Chad begged Gabriella a few days later. "He's driving me freaking nuts!"

"No! I have nothing more to say to him," she stated.

"You're gonna have to talk to him sooner or later. School starts in two days. What are you gonna do then? You know there is no way he's gonna leave you alone."

"I'll worry about it when the time comes," she said stubbornly crossing her arms.

Chad groaned. "Fine."

* * *

Gabriella's stomach was in knots on the first day of school. She was hoping to avoid Troy all day, but she wasn't holding her breath. Her class schedule needed some tweaking so instead of going to homeroom she went to the office to have it fixed. They finished it just as the bell for first period rang. She walked through the crowded hallways with her head down hoping that if Troy happened to be walking the same halls he wouldn't see her. She made it through two classes without seeing him. When the bell rang for third period she checked her schedule. Chemistry. Great, that was on the complete other side of the school. She wouldn't have time to drop the books she got in her environmental science and english classes off at her locker and make it there on time. She gathered her books and hurried across the building and up to the third floor.

She made it to class just as the late bell rang. She saw an open seat at one of the lab tables a few rows back and made her way over and plopped her books down on the table with a sigh. It made the group of people on the other side of the table jolt. She looked up as the guy who was sitting on top of the counter turned to face her. It was Troy.

"Hello everyone," a woman she presumed was her teacher said. "My name is Mrs. Darnell and I'll be your chemistry teacher this year. Please take your seats."

Relieved to have some time to think before Troy would undoubtedly make her talk to him, Gabriella sat in her seat and turned to the front of the class. She tried to pay attention to what the teacher was saying, but her mind was wondering and she could feel Troy staring at the back of her head. All too soon the bell rang signaling class was over. She tried to grab her growing stack of books and make it out of the classroom without Troy, but he was too fast for her.

"Bri," he said placing a hand on her shoulder. She turned to face him with a stern look. Even though she was giving him the evil eye, he couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was. "Wow, you look amazing." She rolled her eyes and started walking away from him.

"Bri! I mean, uh... Gabriella! Wait!" he called after her. She spun around and glared at him.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

"Just talk to me."

"I have nothing to say to you," she said and once again started walking away from him.

He followed right behind her. "Well then tell me how you've been. What you've been up to for two years. How is the baby?" He said the last part softly.

She flinched at the mention of her lost child. "There is no baby."

Troy stopped in his tracks momentarily before realizing Gabriella was still walking. He quickened his pace to catch up with her. "What do you mean?" he asked as she stopped in front of a locker.

"There is no baby," she repeated as she opened her locker and unloaded her books. His brows furrowed in confusion, searching her face for some something to make sense of what she was saying. "It died, Troy," she said coldly.

"What?" he asked in disbelief. "And you couldn't tell me that?"

"Well it's not like the opportunity arose until now."

"You could have written me back!" he yelled.

"What?" she asked as her face softened.

"You could have written me back," he repeated in a normal speaking voice.

"What are you talking about?" she asked him slowly, confusion written on her face.

"Bri," Troy said softly. "I wrote you a letter every day until last week."

Gabriella's eyes filled with rage. She slammed her locker shut and stormed down the hallway out the front door of the school and into the parking lot leaving Troy standing at her locker wondering what the heck was going on.

* * *

Gabriella flung open the front door of her house. Rusty was sitting on the couch in the living room and jumped. Since he was now his own boss, he worked from home three days per week and that day happened to be one of them.

"Gabriella?" he asked as he stood up. "What's wrong? Why aren't you in school?"

"Where are they?" she demanded as she stormed over to him.

"What?" Rusty asked confused.

"You heard me. Where are they?"

"Where are what, Gabs? I have no idea what you are talking about!"

"My letters from Troy," she said. Rusty's expression changed to that of a deer caught in headlights. "I know he sent them and I know you have them. Now where the hell are they?!" she screamed.

Knowing it wouldn't do him any good to deny it, he sighed and walked into his bedroom returning with a large stack of envelopes. "I'm sorry," he said softly as he held them out to her. Ignoring his apology, she snatched them from him and ran into her room slamming the door behind her.

* * *

Hours later Gabriella laid on her stomach on her bed hugging her pillow, surrounded by letters, envelopes and a large stack of cash. She couldn't believe it. All this time she thought that Troy didn't care and had completely abandoned her when in reality he had been sending her letters everyday. The letters were amazing. He was reading up on pregnancy and wrote about the changes he imagined she was going through, what was going on with the baby's development and random pregnancy and baby facts. He kept her updated on what was going on with him, like his basketball season and his family's move to Albuquerque, all the while professing his love and devotion to her and never giving up hope that one day they would be together again and could be a family. He also sent her money whenever he could. When she counted it she was surprised to see in two years he sent her over four thousand dollars.

A knock on her door brought Gabriella's mind back to the present. "Go away," she muttered. The door opened and footsteps slowly approached the bed. "I said go away."

"Bri?" Troy said in almost a whisper as he sat down beside her and put his hand on her back.

Her head shot up at the sound of his voice. She immediately sat up and fell into his arms. "Troy," she sobbed. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea. I thought you left me. I thought you didn't care anymore."

"Shhh," he said rocking her. "It's okay baby doll. It isn't your fault. It's okay."

Once her tears stopped coming she looked up at him. "I'm sorry, Troy. For how I told you about the baby earlier. I didn't know about the letters and I was so angry at you."

"It's okay. You didn't know," he reassured her. He paused before he asked, "Umm... what happened?"

Gabriella took a deep breath. That was one of the worst days of her life. She didn't want to tell him and have to relive it, but he deserved to know. She exhaled. "I had a doctor appointment the week after you left," she started. "They did a sonogram and the baby didn't have a heartbeat. They said the baby passed at about 6 weeks."

"I wish I could have been there for you," he said sadly.

"It was terrible," she said with fresh tears rolling down her cheeks. "I had to go to the hospital and they were rude and called me names and treated me so bad. They did this thing where they scraped and sucked everything out and then they threw it away, Troy, they threw our baby away!"

They sat holding each other in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before there was another knock on the door. It opened to reveal Taylor and Chad.

"Hey," Chad said slightly confused. "Um... What's going on?"

"We're just talking. We worked everything out," Gabriella explained. "It was a _huge_ misunderstanding."

"Well I'm glad," Chad replied with a smile. He took her hand and pulled her off the bed and into him giving her a quick kiss.

"What's all this?" Taylor asked motioning towards the bed.

"Oh, just a few letters I wrote to her," Troy said as he began to pick them up.

"A few?" Taylor asked raising an eyebrow. "Either they are the longest letters ever written or there are more than a few."

"I thought you said you hadn't heard from him?" Chad questioned.

"I didn't until today," Gabriella answered.

"Huh?" Chad was confused. "There are hundreds of letters and you don't consider that keeping in touch?"

"I never knew about them until today. Rusty was hiding them from me."

"Why?"

"Because he didn't want me talking to Troy." She was starting to get annoyed by the interrogation. "Anymore questions?"

"Can I borrow twenty bucks?" Chad joked nodding towards the stack of money trying to lighten the mood.

"Ask Troy, it's his money."

Chad turned to Troy with wide eyes. Troy just shrugged.

"So what did mister strong and silent basketball star have so much to talk about?" Taylor teased snatching a piece of paper from the top of the stack. Troy tried to grab it back but she dodged his hand. "Dear Bri. How are you? I hope you are feeling well and aren't sick at all. But if you are, don't worry. I was doing some reading and it should go away after a few weeks. It's only been a week and already I miss you so much. Things aren't the same around here without you. I've been thinking, and I'm gonna find a way to make this right. I'll find a way back to you, I promise. I love you so much. More than you'll ever know. Love, Troy. P.S. Here is some money for whatever you need," she read aloud. She handed the letter back to Troy and asked, "I thought you guys were neighbors?"

"We were," he said. "We were best friends, too."

"That sounded like a little more than just friends," she said with smirk.

Chad was beginning to catch on. "So why didn't Rusty want you two talking?" he asked.

Gabriella and Troy exchanged looks before she answered. "Well, the night before I left to move to Phoenix Troy stayed the night and well.. um... we uh... yeah. He found out and flipped. He changed the phone numbers, cut off all long distance and apparently hid my mail."

Chad didn't know what to think. His girlfriend slept with one of his best friends. He thought he understood what was going on, but one thing still didn't make sense. "And the money?" he asked.

Once again Troy and Gabriella exchanged worried glances. Neither of them knew what to say, but they didn't have much time to think about it before a light bulb went off in Taylor's head.

"Oh my God," she gasped bringing her hand to her mouth. "You were pregnant!"

Nobody said anything for a while. "Gabriella?" Chad finally asked. He was hoping it wasn't true. That his girlfriend hadn't been pregnant by one of his best friends. That was even worse than just sleeping with him. There had to be some other explanation.

Gabriella swallowed and bit her bottom lip nervously. She didn't know what to say so she closed her eyes and nodded.

Chad was stunned. He couldn't believe his girlfriend had been pregnant. He didn't even know she had had sex before. He just assumed she was a virgin. This was all too much for him. "I need some air," he said walking across her room and onto her balcony.

She sighed and got a box out of her closet. She put all the letters in it and returned to her closet putting it on the top shelf. At her bed once again she gathered up all the money and handed it to Troy. "Here, buy yourself a car or something," she said before joining Chad on the balcony.

Chad stood with his hands on the railing and his head hanging low. "Chad," Gabriella said softly as she stood next to him. He ignored her. "Chad, please. Just talk to me."

"What do you want me to say?" he asked frustrated.

"I don't know. Tell me what you're thinking."

"What I'm thinking? I'm thinking maybe I don't know my girlfriend as well as I thought I did. I'm thinking that there may be tons of things you just don't bother to tell me if you didn't even tell me about the most important part of your life." He sighed and continued softly, "I'm wondering how I can compete with Troy. He was your best friend, your first love, the father of your baby. I can't beat any of that."

"Chad, it's not a competition."

"Gee, thanks. You could have at least pretended that I had a chance."

"No, I meant it's not about who can beat who. I knew Troy was here when I told you I'd be your girlfriend. It didn't change my answer then and its not gonna change it now."

"You mean it?"

"Yes, Chad, I mean it," she answered as he wrapped his arms around her and held her close.


	7. Chapter 7

**Oh the reviews and PM's I got last chapter. They were great. It seems there is one question everyone wants to know. Does this story end Chadella or Troyella? I already know how it's going to end and I don't think anyone is expecting it. That's all I'm gonna say. You'll just have to keep reading to see for yourself how it ends. :)**

**This one is kinda short and not my best, but I hope you all enjoy it.  
**

* * *

Troy sighed as his eyes followed Gabriella and Chad walking hand in hand out of the cafeteria. They had just finished their lunch and were headed to the library to work on a project for their government class leaving him and Taylor behind at the table. They had been in school for almost three weeks now and it wasn't getting any easier for him to see them together.

"It must be hard," Taylor said sympathetically, snapping Troy out of his thoughts.

"What's that?" he asked trying to pretend he didn't know what she was talking about. Was he really that obvious?

"Don't play dumb with me, Troy. You know what I'm talking about," she paused. When he didn't answer she added "Seeing them together."

He sighed again. _I guess it is that obvious,_ he thought. "It's getting better," he lied with a shrug.

"Well, I don't want to sound insensitive, but maybe _you_ should find someone else, too," she said. "People are starting to wonder."

"Wonder what?" he asked.

"If you are, well, you know." Troy gave her a confused look. She leaned in towards him and motioned for him to do the same. "Gay," she said in a whisper.

He jumped back. "What??" he asked completely shocked. "Why would they think that??"

"Well, Troy. Think about it. Every girl in this school wants you and has ever since you moved here, but in two years you haven't even given a single one a second glance."

"And that means I'm gay??" he asked incredulously.

"Well, it sure makes people wonder. Isn't there even one girl in this school that you wouldn't mind dating? That you could possibly see as more than a friend?"

"I don't know. I never paid attention to any of them."

"Well it's time to start. Seriously, if you go stag to homecoming again the rumors are gonna fly. How about Christina McCombs?" she asked pointing to the girl across the lunchroom.

"Nah... Too ditsy."

"Miranda Burns?"

"Too serious."

As Taylor continued to name girls, Troy continued to shoot them down with lame reasons. Too short, too tall, too loud, too quiet, too skinny, too big, too smart, too dumb.

"Sharpay Evans?"

"Taylor, are you kidding me?"

"What? She's pretty."

"She's too... uh... well... just too _Sharpay_."

Taylor threw her hands up in frustration. "You are hopeless! You know what your problem is? You are just too darn picky!"

"What's wrong with having high standards?" Troy joked. She rolled her eyes as the bell rang.

As they were walking to their classes Taylor asked, "Hey, Troy? Can you give me a ride to school tomorrow?"

"Yeah, no problem. Pick you up at eight?"

"Sure, see ya tomorrow!" she answered as they went their separate ways.

* * *

Troy smiled from behind the wheel as Taylor cheerfully bounced to the car. "You're sure in a good mood today," he said.

"Today is going to be a good day. Today is the day we find you a girlfriend," she replied with a wink.

Troy playfully rolled his eyes as he began driving. She turned the radio on and the volume up. When he stopped at a red light he looked over at her. She was lost in her own world singing and dancing to the music. He smiled. Taylor was a good looking girl and she was sweet. Not usually his type, but then again, what was his type? There had really only been Gabriella. The light turned green and a car behind him honked snapping his attention back to the road.

As they were walking through the parking lot at school, Taylor had her eyes peeled for potential girlfriends. She was just about to point one out when Troy stopped walking and turned to her.

"You said every girl in this school wants me. Is that really true?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah!" she replied. "Pretty much."

"Does that include you?"

"What?"

"Does it?"

"Well I... uh..."

"I was thinking on the way here. You're a cute girl and a great friend and I really enjoy hanging out with you and-" Troy rambled awkwardly as they started walking again.

"Me?" she interrupted. "You have hundreds of girls to choose from and you want me?"

"You're right. Bad idea. I'm sorry, I just-"

"No, Troy, that's not what I meant. I'm just surprised, that's all. Guys don't usually notice me, especially not guys like you."

"So what do you say?" he asked stopping at the top of the steps to the schools front doors. He held his hand out to her. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Troy, I would be honored." She smiled as she placed her hand in his.

* * *

Gabriella was taking a drink out of her water bottle when Troy and Taylor walked into home room holding hands. Her eyes got wide and she began to cough on the water.

"You okay, babe?" Chad asked her. Still coughing, she motioned towards the door. "Woah!" he exclaimed when he realized what she was pointing at. "I didn't see that coming at all!"

"Hey guys," Taylor said. She and Troy took their seats directly in front of Gabriella and Chad just as the late bell rang and Ms. Darbus walked in.

"So," Gabriella said with a smile a few hours later in chemistry. She and Troy had chosen each other as lab partners. "You and Taylor?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Um... yeah," Troy replied. "Is there a problem with that?"

"No," Gabriella said with a smirk and a shake of her head. "No problem." Troy and Taylor? Definitely not a match. What are they thinking? She let out a small giggle.

"What?" he asked confused.

"Nothing," she said shaking her head again.

* * *

"Which one do you think he'll like better?" Taylor asked as she held up two formal gowns. She and Gabriella were at the mall shopping for homecoming dresses.

"Well," Gabriella said, studying them both. One was spaghetti strapped, slinky, and silver with a sheer black layer over it that split down the middle right under the breasts. The silver part was knee length but the sheer black fell to the floor. She could just picture it flowing behind Taylor as she walked. The other was floor length, sleeveless, and had a low cut v-neck. The back was open and cut daringly low. It was red and sparkly, also with a sheer black layer over it and a slit clear up the side to her hip. "They are both gorgeous," she said, "but I have to say the red one. It is his favorite color after all."

Taylor nodded and put the silver dress back on the rack. She continued to look through the dresses for one that Gabriella might like.

"I wonder what Chad's favorite color is," Gabriella said to herself as she browsed.

Taylor looked up at her friend. "Gabriella," she said, "it's blue."

Gabriella looked surprised. How could her friend know her boyfriend's favorite color and she didn't? "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Once the color was decided, they found a dress quickly. It was strapless and dark blue satin. It had the illusion of wrapping around her with beading along the top and the edge that crossed her body. The body was tight fitting but it flared out at the hips to become quite fluffy on the bottom. It was simple, but beautiful.

"I don't know, Gabriella," Taylor called from inside the dressing room.

"Just let me see!" Gabriella replied. Slowly the door opened and Taylor stepped out making Gabriella's eyes go wide. The dress hugged her curves perfectly. "Girl, what don't you know about? That dress is _hot_ and you are absolutely gorgeous! Troy won't be able to stop staring at you."

"You think?" Taylor asked nervously. "It's not over the top?"

"No, Taylor, it's perfect!"

Once she had convinced Taylor that was the right dress it was her turn to try her dress on. Once she got it on she looked at herself in the mirror and smiled.

"Well?" Taylor asked from outside. Gabriella opened the door and walked out with a smile on her face. She spun around. "Definitely a winner!" Taylor exclaimed. "Those boys aren't going to know what hit them!"

* * *

Troy and Chad's jaws dropped at the sight of their beautiful girlfriends who were slowly descending the stairs together. With fresh manicures and pedicures, their hair and makeup done perfectly, and their formal dresses they looked absolutely stunning.

"Wow," Troy gasped looking back and forth between the girls. "You girls look... wow!"

The girls looked at each other and giggled at Troy not being able to put a sentence together and Chad who was still standing there with his mouth hanging open.

"You two don't look so bad yourselves," Gabriella said as they reached the bottom of the stairs. The boys were clad in black suits and ties with a shirt to match their girl's dress. She put her hand under Chad's chin and lifted it up, finally closing his mouth. "Catch any flies?" she asked with a grin.

"Gabriella," he said softly, his voice full of awe. "I have never seen anything more beautiful in my life." He twirled her around and pulled her gently into him laying a soft sensual kiss on her lips. They all walked outside and hopped in the sleek black limousine that was waiting for them.

When they arrived at the gym, which had been decorated to look amazing, music was playing and people were already dancing. Each couple got their pictures taken and headed out to the dance floor. After quite a few songs they found and empty table and plopped down exhausted and a little sweaty.

"I'm going to go get some punch," Chad said. "You guys want some?" They all nodded. When he came back with the drinks they chugged them down and made a weird face. It only took him one sip to realize the punch had been spiked. He rolled his eyes. "Tastes like someone just couldn't wait to get the after party started."

"Speaking of after parties," Troy said. "Are we going to hit any up?"

"I think Jason is having one," Chad said. "The only other one I know of is the one Sharpay Evans is throwing, and I think I'd rather stick pins in my eyes than go near her."

"Then Jason's it is!" Gabriella decided for them. "You can all stay the night at my house if you end drinking a little too much punch," she added with a wink. Troy and Chad exchanged glances and jumped up from the table hurrying back to the punch bowl.

"Don't forget us!" Taylor called after them with a laugh.

Once word got out that the punch was spiked, almost everyone at the dance suddenly became very thirsty. In no time it was gone and people started leaving to hit up the parties. When they all got back into the limo they opened the mini fridge to see it fully stocked with wine, champagne and liquor. By the time they arrived at Jason's house they were all feeling pretty tipsy. They walked in the front door only to be greeted with a girl holding a tray of jello shots. They all grabbed a few and headed into the room with the music.

Troy watched Gabriella work her tongue to get the jello out of the little cup and felt his temperature rise. _Don't even think about it_, he thought to himself. _She's with your best friend now. _She discarded the first cup and went on to the second with him still watching intently. Feeling like he wouldn't be able to contain himself if he watched her any longer he grabbed Taylor's hand and pulled her to the make shift dance floor in the middle of the room. He stopped another girl with a tray that was making her way through the crowd and grabbed two of the little cups filled with brown liquid. He downed them both ignoring the burning in his throat and tossed the cups aside.

"What's his deal?" Chad asked confused.

Gabriella shrugged. They walked over next to their friends and began to dance along side them. Troy picked his dancing up a notch and began to bump and grind with Taylor to the music. _He is so drunk_, Gabriella thought. A third girl came walking by with a rack of test tubes with brightly colored liquid in them. Gabriella grabbed a handful and downed all five at once. She watched Troy and Taylor as they danced. They were all but having sex on the dance floor. Her eyes caught his and he gave her a look of challenge. She held his stare and began to dance with Chad in ways she didn't even know she could. When Troy began getting even dirtier with Taylor, Gabriella turned to face Chad and pulled his face to hers, shoving her tongue roughly in his mouth without missing a beat.

Before things could go any further, the sound of sirens in the distance was heard and the music shut off. People began scrambling everywhere to get out. The four of them ran out of the house and to their limo with Troy slowing down only to grab two handfuls of the test tube drinks on the way out. As the limo began to drive off he held them up.

"Anybody want some?" he asked with a grin.

Chad and Taylor each took two while Gabriella and Troy split the other twelve. By the time they got back to Gabriella's house, they were all completely drunk. Gabriella showed Troy and Taylor to the guest room then went to her room where Chad was waiting for her. He was sitting on her bed in boxers and a wife beater.

"Did you have a good night?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she said undoing the zipper on the side of her dress and letting it fall to the floor, leaving her in lacy black strapless bra and panties. "What about you?"

"Yeah, but it just got a _lot_ better," he answered with a grin.

She grinned back doing her best to walk seductively towards him, when in reality it was more of a stumble. "And the night is still young," she slurred as she shoved him back onto her bed and climbed on top of him.


	8. Chapter 8

**Ok, here is the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy it. This story is almost done. The next chapter will be the last one. As always, don't forget to leave my story some love and let me know what you think.  
**

* * *

Gabriella awoke the next morning with a pounding head and dry mouth. When she opened her eyes her vision was blurry but she quickly gained focus. Looking around she saw her room was a disaster. Clothes were everywhere. She groaned wondering what the heck happened after they left the dance. She remembered opening some bottles that were in the limo fridge, but everything after that was a blur. She got out of bed and walked over to her bathroom. She jumped when she opened the door and Chad was standing on her rug in nothing but boxers drying himself off. 

"Well, look who finally decided to wake up," he joked. "Good morning. I brought some Tylenol up for you. I figured you might need it." He filled a cup with water from the faucet and handed it to her along with the two little pills from the counter. After she swallowed them and drank the glass of water he pulled her close and kissed her sensually on the lips while he tangled his fingers in her hair and gently tugged. "You look hot," he winked when they pulled apart.

For the first time Gabriella looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was a disheveled mess and she was wearing nothing but the dark blue button up shirt Chad had been wearing the night before. Suddenly all the events of the previous night came flooding back to her. She remembered the party, the police, the mad scramble to the limo, the ride home.

And then there was the sex. That was certainly not how she pictured their first time together. Actually, the thought of sleeping with him at all had never even crossed her mind. She always told herself that she would only have sex with someone she knew without a doubt that she loved and her relationship with Chad just hadn't reached that point yet. Oh well, she couldn't take it back now.

_It's too late to tell him I want to wait_, _so I might as well enjoy myself, _she decided as she turned to him with a mischievous grin.

* * *

Gabriella and Troy sat in Chemistry class a week later as their teacher handed out their mid term progress reports. He was visibly nervous waiting to receive his. When he did his face dropped. She got hers and smiled. An A, of course. The bell rang and all the students filed out of the classroom.

"Bri, I need your help," Troy said walking beside her.

"What do you need?" she asked.

"A chem tutor."

She laughed. "What you need, Troy, is to pay attention in class instead of being off in la la land," she teased.

"Seriously, Bri. I'm almost failing. If I don't get my grade up I can't play basketball this year. The only things keeping me from failing miserably are the labs because I have the world's best lab partner," he said with a wink.

"I don't know," she said slowly with a smile. She was enjoying making him wait.

"Please, Bri. _Please_ tutor me!" he begged.

"Oh, fine. I _guess_ I could do it," she said with a smirk.

"Thank you, thank you. _Thank you!_" he said giving her a huge hug returning to his normal cheerful self. "You are the best. I knew you'd come through for me!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she said playfully rolling her eyes as they went their separate ways.

* * *

"You guys wanna go see a movie today after school?" Chad asked everyone at lunch. The majority of the table consisting of jocks, cheerleaders, Gabriella and Taylor agreed.

"How about it?" Taylor asked Troy. "Wanna go?"

"I can't. I'm getting tutored for Chemistry today," he answered.

"How about you, Gabriella?" Chad asked her.

"I can't. _I'm_ Troy's tutor," she said with a laugh.

"But hey," Troy added when both Taylor and Chad looked bummed out. "You guys can still go with everyone else. Don't feel like you have to miss out because I'm a dummy.

"Yeah," Gabriella agreed. "It's okay to go without me, I promise."

Chad and Taylor exchanged glances and reluctantly agreed to go.

* * *

"Again??" Chad exclaimed a couple weeks later a lunch. He had just been told Gabriella was tutoring Troy after school. "Geeze, Troy. How dumb are you?"

"I'll put it this way," Troy said sternly. "If I don't pass my midterm, I don't play basketball next semester."

Chad's eyes widened. "Oh my gosh. Tutor away then!" he said to Gabriella with a wave of his hand.

* * *

"Do you understand now?" Gabriella asked slightly annoyed, as they went over the Chemistry work.

"No!" Troy threw his hands up in frustration and then leaned back rubbing his face. "I need a break," he said standing up.

She leaned back and sighed. She couldn't figure out why he wasn't getting it. She had been tutoring him three days a week for three weeks and made barely any progress. Maybe it was time for him to find a different tutor because something about her just wasn't working for him.

He walked back into her dining room with two glasses of water and sat down in his seat. "So, we haven't really had time to catch up. What have you been up to the past two years?" he asked.

"Nothing really," she shrugged.

"Oh, come on! You couldn't have done nothing for two years. What did you and your friends like to do in Phoenix?"

She looked down at her feet. "I didn't have friends."

"What? What do you mean? A bunch of people called you for the two days I was there."

"Yeah, well, after I lost the baby I stopped talking to them all. They wouldn't have understood if I told them and I couldn't stand to be around them laughing and having a good time when I just lost my baby and its father."

"So you didn't talk to _anyone?_"

"Not until a couple months later when I met Chad. Until then all I did was come home and do school work."

"So _that's_ why you are such a brainiac now." She nodded. "So then you met Chad and you guys became friends?"

"Yeah. He came to visit family in Phoenix for Thanksgiving. We started talking online when he came back here. We would talk almost all afternoon and evening until basketball season started. Then he wasn't on as much so I started reading more and I learned to knit."

"Knit? Like a scarf?"

"Yeah, at first scarves, but once I got better at it I started making hats, gloves, socks and even sweaters. Then I started some gardening, scrap booking and sewing. Over the summer I took pottery, wood shop and cake decorating classes. I found ways to keep myself busy."

"Sewing? Are you any good?"

She shrugged. "I make all my clothes."

"You do?" She nodded. "That must be why you are taking fashion design at school."

"Yep! I'm getting a grade to do something I would have done outside of school anyways, which is good because now that I have friends I don't have as much spare time."

"Wow, Bri, I'm impressed!"

"Thanks," she blushed. "What about you? What did you do for two years?"

"Play basketball," he laughed.

"Well besides that, silly."

"Nothing really. The Christmas after you moved when I still hadn't heard from you I got depressed and went into a funk. I withdrew from my friends and threw myself into basketball. And even though we hung out all the time, I didn't really talk much to the team or anyone when I moved here."

"So_that's_ why Taylor called you strong and silent that day with the letters in my bedroom. I've been wondering about that since then. That certainly isn't how I would have described the Troy I knew. Actually, I wouldn't even describe you that way now."

"Well, once I saw you again and got some closure on everything that happened I went back to being my old self."

Gabriella and Troy began to reminisce about things they did and funny times together back in Oregon. He had just finished talking about the time Gabriella wore a skirt to school for valentine's day and in between classes the wind picked up and blew her skirt up for everyone to see. They were both laughing hysterically when Chad and Taylor walked in.

"I never realized Chemistry was so funny," Taylor joked.

"Hi guys," Troy said wiping away the tears that were leaking out of the corners of his eyes from laughing so hard. "We were just taking a break. Bri was getting frustrated with me and my stupidity."

"I think we've tried enough for today," Gabriella said beginning to gather up the papers. "How was the movie?"

"It was okay. Would have been better if you were there," Chad said giving her a kiss on the forehead.

* * *

"What do you think they're doing?" Taylor asked Chad the next week. Troy and Gabriella were doing chemistry _again_, so they were sitting at a booth in an old fashioned diner eating ice cream.

"Homework, I guess," Chad answered with a shrug.

"I'm not so sure," she said softly stirring her spoon in her root beer float.

"What do you mean?"

"I dunno. Do you think Troy really needs this much tutoring?"

"Well he said if he doesn't pass the mid term he can't play ball next semester. They have been spending a lot of time together, though."

"A lot? Chad, they see each other more than they see us. Sometimes I wonder if they really are tutoring."

Chad's eyes got wide. "You think they have a thing going on?" he asked

"I don't know, but they sure weren't doing school work last week after the movie."

"Well, there's only three more weeks until mid terms. I guess we'll see then."

* * *

On the last day of school before Christmas break, the lunch room was buzzing with excitement. Only one more period and they would be free from teachers, homework and tests for three weeks. The usual gang was sitting at the table, but Troy was nowhere to be found. Just as Taylor was getting up to go find him they heard him shouting.

"Gabriella!!" he yelled. Everyone in the cafeteria turned to look at him as he ran from the far side to their table. "Gabriella I did it!! Can you believe it I passed!!!" He picked her up from the table and hugged her spinning her around in circles.

"What? How do you know?" she asked excitedly.

"Yesterday I stayed after class to beg and beg Mrs. Darnell to grade mine. She said to check back today after the first midterm, so I did and I passed. I had to get at least a seventy and I got a seventy-one, so I passed. Not, by much but I passed!"

"That's awesome, Troy," she said giving him a warm smile. "I'm really proud of you. You worked really hard."

"So you can play, captain?" Jason asked from the other end of the table.

"Yep, I can play!" Troy replied as the whole table burst into cheers.

* * *

Taylor was sitting on the couch in her living room when the doorbell rang. When she opened the door Chad walked in.

"Hey," he said softly. They both plopped back down on the couch and stared at the TV.

"Gabriella busy again today?" she asked without emotion.

"Yeah," he sighed.

"Troy, too."

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Taylor perked up. "You know, just because they are busy, doesn't mean we can't do something," she said. "Let's go to the mall. I need to finish my Christmas shopping."

"I guess so," Chad agreed.

They hopped in Chad's car and drove to the mall. It was only a week before Christmas so it was really crowded. As they were driving around the parking lot looking for an empty space, Taylor's face dropped.

"Do you see what I see?" she asked pointing at the next isle over.

He looked where she was pointing and saw Gabriella and Troy loading shopping bags into his trunk before getting in the car and driving away.

* * *

On Christmas day after they finished their family celebrations, Chad, Troy and Taylor went to Gabriella's house to exchange gifts. Gabriella knit Taylor a matching hat, scarf and glove set. Taylor got Gabriella a book and a gift certificate to the fabric store. For Troy she managed to track down a really rare movie he had been dying to get. The guys got their girls gift certificates for a full day at the spa and had red and white tight fitting, low cut wildcat basketball jerseys made complete with the appropriate guy's number and last name on the back. They claimed that the girls 'needed' them to show their school spirit and support their boyfriends for basketball season. Troy and Gabriella as well as Chad and Taylor had been stumped on what to get each other. They all laughed when everyone opened their gifts to find the same thing, a gift certificate to the movie theater.

"And last but not least," Gabriella said walking into the office and coming out with her gift to Chad. It was about four feet tall, three feet wide and two inches thick. She glanced nervously at Troy as Chad tore open the paper.

"Oh my gosh!" he exclaimed. She had gotten him a number 33 Phoenix Suns jersey, autographed by Grant Hill himself and had it framed. "How did you do this?"

"Well, I knew he was your favorite player, but Troy helped me pick out the jersey and stalk the guy to get it autographed," she said relieved.

"That's why we've been so mysteriously busy the past week or so," Troy said with a grin.

"So, you like it?" she asked cautiously.

"Like it?" Chad asked. "Gabriella, I _love _it!"

* * *

Two months later the four of them walked through the main doors of the school all decked out in wildcat spirit. Troy and Chad had no choice but to wear their basketball sweat suits for the state championship game later that night. Gabriella and Taylor were wearing their jerseys the boys got them for Christmas with tight white low rise pants Gabriella made with red sequined scarves for belts and strappy red heels. Their hair was done in french braid pigtails with red and white ribbons. With the amount of cleavage and midriff the jerseys showed they were certain to get sent to the office for dress code violation.

"Told you," Chad said with a grin as everyone watched them walk down the hall.

"Told me what?" Gabriella asked.

"That you look two look _hot_! Everyone is staring at you."

"I'm sure everyone's staring has absolutely nothing to do with the stars of the basketball team who are playing for a state title tonight," Taylor said sarcastically.

"Hey, guys," a guy said as they walked by. "Nervous?" Chad and Troy shook their heads. "Well good luck tonight."

"Told you," Gabriella said mocking Chad.

"And now," the announcer said. "The East High Wildcats!!" The crowd erupted in applause and cheers as the team ran out of the locker room and across the court to their bench. Gabriella and Taylor were in their usual seats three rows up right behind them. They were now lightly dusted with body glitter and had wildcat prints painted on their cheeks. Before taking the court Troy and Chad turned to wave and wink at them.

* * *

Two hours later the entire gym was on their feet. The wildcats were down by one with only ten seconds left in a game that had started to get a little rough and dirty towards the end. One of the players from the knights shoved Jason and earned a foul. He was sitting on the bench as Jason prepared to throw a free throw. He missed. Taking a deep breath and bouncing the ball twice, he shot and missed again. The ball bounced off the rim and into the hands of one of the knights. He ran down the court. He shot the ball but Chad swatted it away. Jason got the ball and quickly passed it back to Chad who was open. They ran it back across the court where Chad found himself being blocked by two knights. Somehow he managed to find an opening and pass the ball to Troy who threw the ball towards the basket just as the buzzer sounded. Gabriella and Taylor nervously held hands and everyone on the court froze. It felt like slow motion as everyone watched the ball soar through the air and circle the rim before swishing through the net.

The gym went wild as everyone on the home side of the bleachers ran onto the court. Taylor looked around trying to find her boyfriend in all the chaos. She and Gabriella had gotten separated when everyone rushed the court. After pushing her way past a group of people she found Chad.

"Hey, Chad!" she yelled over the crowd giving him a hug. "Great game!"

"Thanks! Where's Gabriella?" he asked looking around.

"I have no idea. Where's Troy?"

"No idea. Let's go find them."

They were looking around pushing their way through the crowd when Gabriella and Troy came into view.

* * *

Gabriella was trying to make her way through the crowd. She was searching for Chad, but he was nowhere to been seen. She spotted Troy ahead of her and ran up to him from behind wrapping her arms around his sweaty neck.

"Congratulations wildcat!" she said excitedly.

He turned to face her and without thinking picked her up and spun her around pressing a quick kiss to her lips. "We won! We won!" he yelled while she giggled. They were unaware of the eyes watching them from only a few yards away.

* * *

A few hours later Chad and Taylor sat quietly on Jason's couch at the after party. They had both been drinking and were feeling pretty tipsy. Troy had to stay after the game for some interviews and Gabriella went home to drop off her school books. They were supposed to arrive at the party at any minute.

"I can't believe they kissed," Chad said breaking the silence.

"I think he still loves her," Taylor said solemnly.

"I think she still loves him," he said.

"I told you they had a thing going on."

They sat in silence once again just drinking their beers. After a few moments they looked at each other and something came over them. They practically attacked each other and started kissing.

"Chad, we can't-" Taylor started.

"You're right. You wanna get out of here?" he asked holding his hand out to her. She nodded and placed her hand in his. He pulled her to her feet and they sprinted out to Chad's car.

* * *

Gabriella had just dropped her books off at home and was on her way out the door when her phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Bri!" Troy said on the other end. "Thanks goodness you're home. My car won't start. Will you pick me up on your way to the party?"

"Yeah, no problem. I'm on my way out the door right now. I'll be there in a few."

She picked a freshly showered and dressed Troy up from the gym and drove to Jason's house. As soon as they parked and got out of her truck they heard police sirens.

Troy groaned. "Already?" he asked. "It's not even 10:00!"

"I think this is a new record! One of Jason's parties has never been busted this early," Gabriella joked.

"I don't see Chad's car," he said as they climbed back into her truck. "You wanna head out to the rock quarry?"

She shrugged. "I guess so."

Gabriella parked her truck next to the big rocks that surrounded the large pool of water. She pulled a blanket out of her backseat and laid it flat in the bed of her truck. They climbed over the side and lay on their backs looking up at the stars.

"What a night," Troy said softly.

"I know," she agreed. "That was some game."

"I was talking about the sky." They both looked quietly for a few moments before Troy turned on his side to look at her. "Bri?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you ever wonder what things would be like now if you hadn't gotten pregnant?"

"Sometimes. I mainly think about the baby and what things would be like if I wouldn't have miscarried."

"It was a boy, you know."

"Oh yeah? What makes you say that?"

"I just know it." Troy paused before finding the nerve to ask the question that had been plaguing him for months. "Bri?"

"Hmm?"

"When did you stop loving me?"

Gabriella took a deep breath and turned on her side to face him. "I don't think I ever did."

Troy stared at her in shock. Did she just say what he thought she did? He had to be hearing things. "What?"

"I don't think I ever did," she repeated.

"You mean you still...?"

She nodded. He gave a small smile as he leaned in and covered her mouth with his. She closed her eyes and parted her lips granting his tongue access. He shifted his weight to his hands so he was hovering over her as she rolled onto her back. They continued to kiss as they slowly and gently shed each other of their clothes.

Gabriella arched her back as he entered her. He began moving in and out with a slow rhythm. Her hips began moving with him as his slow gentle movements turned into fast hard thrusts. "Troy," she moaned when she felt herself getting close. Just when she didn't think she could hold it any longer she felt him burst within her. With his eyes closed, he touched his forehead and nose to hers for a moment before giving her a soft kiss on the mouth and rolling over on his side next to her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

"I still love you, too," he whispered.

* * *

A month later Troy, Taylor, Chad and Gabriella sat at a booth in a small diner. Things had been tense since the night of the championship game. After they confessed their love to each other, Troy and Gabriella had gone back to Taylor and Chad. They didn't know how to act around each other and Troy guessed that Taylor and Chad had picked up on their awkwardness because they were acting weird, too. As if that wasn't bad enough, Gabriella had been in a miserable mood for the past few days and it was making everything even more strained.

The waitress took their order and Gabriella ordered a large meal. "You sure are are becoming an expensive date," Chad joked, regretting it the second he said it.

"What?" Gabriella snapped.

"Nothing," he replied fumbling for words. "I just meant, uh... you've been ordering more than you used to."

"What, are you saying I'm getting fat or something?" she asked bitterly.

"No, Gabriella. Not at all, I-"

"Whatever."

As they waited for their food, Taylor fidgeted with her napkin. She didn't know what to say and the silence was beginning to make her crazy. _Say something_, she thought. _Anything_. "I slept with Chad," she blurted. As soon as she said it her eyes went wide. _Anything but that_!

Chad and Troy both choked on their drinks and Gabriella huffed.

"Taylor!" Chad exclaimed.

"You what?" Troy asked shocked.

"I slept with Chad," Taylor repeated softly.

"Figures," Gabriella muttered under her breath.

"Wow," Troy said sinking back into his seat.

"We didn't mean to, it just kinda _happened_," Taylor said.

"Yeah, it won't happen again," Chad agreed. "Gabriella, I'm really sorry."

"It's fine," Gabriella said rolling her eyes as the food arrived.

Everyone began to dig in, but after a few bites Gabriella put her fork down. "I'm pregnant," she announced.

Taylor gasped, Troy froze mid-bite and Chad dropped his fork in his lap. "Oh my gosh," Chad said turning to her and taking her hands in his. "Gabriella, I am so sorry. What a time for you to find out about me and Taylor. I'm so sorry, but I promise it won't happen again. I'm gonna be here for you. I'm not going anywhere. I swear I'm gonna support you."

"That's really sweet, Chad," Gabriella said. "Troy and I are going to need all the support we can get raising a baby in high school."


	9. Chapter 9

**Ok, so I lied. This isn't the last chapter. There will be a short epilogue after this. Enjoy and don't forget to leave a review letting me know what you think. Oh, and I put a link to the funniest HSM parody I've ever seen in my profile. You have to check it out, I was crying from laughing so hard. **

* * *

"Wait," Taylor said trying to make sense of Gabriella's confession. "What?"

"Suddenly I'm not feeling so guilty about sleeping with Taylor," Chad said bitterly. Gabriella looked down and fidgeted with her hands.

"Tell me about it," Taylor agreed, narrowing her eyes at Troy who was still staring in shock at Gabriella. "I had a suspicion that you guys had a thing going on. I knew you guys were spending too much time together."

"What?" Troy asked, finally tearing his gaze away from Gabriella. "Taylor, we didn't have a _thing_ going on. It happened all at once and just one time. The rest of the time we were studying or doing stuff for _his_ damn Christmas present."

"Yeah, well, it didn't take you long to start doing something else. How shitty that my best friend has a thing for _my_ boyfriend."

Gabriella had heard enough. "Oh, shut it, Taylor," she spat. "We didn't do anything you two didn't do. The only reason the opportunity even arose for us is because _you_ were nowhere to be found, and I guess now we know why. And I'm not stupid. Don't think I don't see the way _you_ look at _my_ boyfriend."

Taylor opened her mouth to say something but quickly shut it and looked away embarrassed. After a few moments of silence, Chad spoke up.

"You still love each other, don't you?" he asked softly. Gabriella looked at him with sad eyes and gave a small nod. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath nodding to himself. He opened his eyes and glanced between her and Troy. "Well then… They need to talk, so I'll take you home, Taylor. I wish you guys the best and I guess I'll see you around," he said giving Gabriella a soft kiss on the cheek before he and Taylor walked out leaving Troy and Gabriella in a sad silence.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Troy asked.

She shook her head. "I think I just want to go home." He nodded and drove her home.

* * *

The next day when she woke up at 11:30, Rusty and Renee were in the kitchen discussing their plans for the day. 

"Hey, Gabs," Rusty said. "You and Chad want to see a movie with us today?"

Gabriella shook her head. "I doubt it," she said softly.

"Well, let me call Chad and ask," Renee said opening her cell phone. Gabriella thought about stopping her, but decided they were going to find out eventually so she might as well get it over with. "Hey, Chad," Renee said cheerfully when he answered the phone. "You wanna come to a movie with us today? … We haven't decided yet. … Yeah, she's going, too. … What? Is everything okay? … Oh, um, okay, I guess. I'll talk to you later then." Rusty raised an eyebrow at her confused expression. "He says he's not going because Gabriella will be there."

"What?" Rusty asked surprised. He turned to Gabriella. "Are you guys fighting?"

"Uh, I guess you could call it that," she said hesitantly.

"What happened?" He questioned.

"Well," she started, "dinner last night was very eventful." Rusty and Renee said nothing waiting for her to continue. "Taylor confessed that she cheated on Troy-"

"What?" Renee interrupted excitedly. She absolutely loved juicy gossip. "I never pictured her as the cheating type."

"With Chad," she finished.

"Oh my gosh! I'm going to kill him!" Renee exclaimed. "And _he's_ mad at _you??_"

Gabriella took a deep breath. _Here goes nothing_, she thought. "Then I confessed that I'm pregnant."

Renee's jaw hung open while Rusty took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He had a feeling that was going to happen sooner or later. "Didn't you learn your lesson the first time?" he asked.

"I guess not. And apparently Troy didn't either," she added softly, looking at the ground.

"Huh?" Renee asked with confusion written all over her face.

"I'll explain it to you later," Rusty said. "Gabriella, look at me."

She slowly lifted her face to look at him with tear filled eyes. "Rusty, I-"

He interrupted her by wrapping her in a hug. "Gabs, it's okay. Unlike you, I _did_ learn my lesson the first time. What you need is love and support, not anger and condemnation."

"You mean you aren't mad?" she asked.

"Well, I'm not happy about it, that's for sure. To be honest, I'm not all that surprised. I knew you guys would get back together as soon as I found out he was in Albuquerque when he came to see you after the first day of school. The surprise is that it took this long."

After a few more moments in the embrace, Gabriella looked up at him. "Thanks, Rusty. I think I'm going to pass on the movie for today, though. You guys go ahead and go. I'm going to soak in the bath for a while."

She walked upstairs and started the water in her tub. While she was waiting for it to fill up she decided to get online. She hesitated for a moment before clicking on Chad's name and sending him a message.

**ItsMeBri:** Hey…

After a minute or so with no reply, she figured he was ignoring her. If he wasn't, he would have answered her by then. She sent him another message.

**ItsMeBri:** Chad, I am so sorry. I never meant to hurt you, I really didn't. That was the last thing I wanted to do. I care about you so much. You are such an amazing person and a great friend. _You_ are the one who got me through some of my hardest times when we met and I need you to get through this, too. I can't do this without you. I'm not in love with you, but I _do_ love you. More than I think you realize right now. You are the one I turn to, and right now I need you, Chad. I'm sorry. Please…

She still didn't get a reply so she got up and walked into her bathroom. She undressed herself and stepped into the warm water before sinking into it and letting it wash over her body.

* * *

After eating lunch, Rusty and Renee were heading out to see a movie. When they opened the front door to leave, they found Troy standing there with his hand up about to knock. Troy didn't know what to say. Had they talked to Gabriella? How much did they know? 

"Hey, Troy," Rusty said letting him in. "She's upstairs taking a bath."

Relieved that Rusty seemed not to know anything, Troy nodded and stepped past him beginning to walk upstairs to Gabriella's room. "Go on out, hun, I'll be right there. I just have to talk to Troy for a second," he heard Rusty say to Renee.

His heart skipped a beat. _Shit, shit, shit! _He thought. _He knows._

"I talked to Gabs this morning," Rusty said. "She had she had some pretty big news."

Troy turned to face him. "Rusty, I, uh," he stuttered.

"Troy, I'm not going to yell or get angry. No, I'm not thrilled about this, but that's not what I'm here to say. I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry. For the way I treated you that day in Phoenix, for cutting off your contact with Gabriella, for hiding your letters from her. I'm really sorry, and I promise this time I'm different. I'm here for you guys supporting you both in whatever you do."

"Thanks, Rusty," he said extending his hand. Rusty looked at his hand and instead gave him a quick hug.

"Just be good to her and take care of them."

"I will."

* * *

Gabriella was lying back in the bathtub with her eyes closed lost in thought when a voice brought her out of her trance. 

"Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?"

The corners of her lips rose slightly in what could almost be considered a smile. "Hey, Troy," she said with her eyes still closed.

"I mean it," Troy said crossing the bathroom and kneeling at the edge of the tub by her head. "You are the most beautiful girl I've ever seen." He gently stroked her cheek and her hair before standing up. He grabbed a towel and held it open for her. "Come on, get out and talk to me."

She opened her eyes and stood up, stepping out of the tub as water dripped off her. He wrapped the towel around her and swept her into his arms bridal style with a grin. Looking into her eyes he placed a gentle kiss on her lips before he carried her into her room and sat in the chair at her desk with her on his lap.

"I missed this," she said with a sigh. "Troy, I'm scared. What if I lose the baby again?"

"Don't think like that, Bri," he told her. "It will be okay. Just think positive. Have you made a doctor appointment yet?"

She shook her head. "I'm too scared. What if there's no heartbeat again? They treated me to awful last time. I can't do it again."

"I know you don't want to, but it's something that has to be done. I'll go with you and I won't let them treat you that way."

"Thanks," she said getting up and walking into her closet to get dressed. "I told Rusty this morning."

"I know. I talked to him for a minute before I came up here."

"He took it pretty well when I told him. He wasn't brutal with you, was he?"

"No, not at all. So are you feeling okay? Are you getting sick at all?" he asked concerned.

"Not really. I get nauseous when I eat, but I don't actually throw up, although I'd probably feel better if I did. Other than that I'm just super exhausted all the time. Ugh!" She stepped out of her closet in a pair of Chad's old basketball warm up sweats and a t-shirt. "I give up," she said throwing her hands in the air. "Nothing fits right."

"Well then let's go get you some new clothes. I can't have my girl prancing around in another guy's stuff." He winked at her.

"Nothing is going to fit," she whined. "I'm just puffy and bloated."

"Well then you can have _my_ sweats and we'll get you some matching tank tops or something."

Gabriella playfully rolled her eyes. "Is it really that big of a deal?"

"Yes," Troy pouted. "I waited all this time for you to be mine again and I want you wearing _my_ stuff."

They walked downstairs and to the front door. She grabbed her keys off the hook and opened the door, jumping a little when she saw Chad and Taylor standing there.

"Hey, Gabriella," Chad said softly looking down shuffling his feet. "I got your message."

A huge smile took over her face as she engulfed him in a bear hug. "Oh, Chad," she said. "I knew you'd come through!" When she let go he was also smiling. "Come on in, guys."

The four walked into the living room. Troy and Gabriella sat on one couch while Chad and Taylor sat on the other.

"So, me and Chad talked about it a little while ago," Taylor said once everyone was situated. "We realized we don't really have any reason to be mad at you guys."

"Yeah," Chad agreed. "After all, it's not like you guys didn't do anything we hadn't done."

"So, we're cool?" Troy asked.

They nodded. "We're cool," Chad answered.

"Oh, Gabriella," Taylor said with a smile. "I have something for you." She tossed a ball of red fabric to her.

Gabriella held it up. It was the wildcat jersey with 'Bolton' on the back that Troy had gotten Taylor for Christmas. She let out a small laugh. "Thanks."

"And, well, I was kind of wondering…" Taylor trailed off.

"What, Tay?" Gabriella asked.

"If I could have you Danforth jersey," Taylor replied with a grin.

Gabriella and Troy exchanged surprised looks before she got up and ran over to Taylor to embrace her in an excited hug and let out some squeals.

* * *

There was quite a buzz the next week at school when the girls wore their swapped jerseys and walked around with their swapped boyfriends. Everywhere they went there were whispers and stares. 

That Friday, Gabriella was sitting in her first period environmental science class when she started feeling sick. "Mrs. Corwin, may I please go to the restroom?" she asked. The teacher nodded so she got up and hurried out of the class and into the restroom. After kneeling in front of the toilet for a few minutes without vomiting, she sighed and washed her hands before returning to class just in time for the bell to ring.

"Gabriella, can I talk to you for a minute?" her teacher asked as she was gathering her books.

"Yeah, sure," she answered.

Mrs. Corwin walked over to Gabriella and sat down in the seat next to her. "Is everything okay with you?" she asked.

"Yeah, everything is fine," Gabriella answered. "Why?"

"I don't know, you just haven't been yourself lately. You've asked to use the restroom everyday this week, twice yesterday, and you always rush to go."

"I'm okay, I just haven't been feeling that well."

"Gabriella, you haven't been paying attention in class, you look like you are about to fall asleep. You've been wearing sweatpants all week and look like you've just rolled out of bed. This isn't like you."

Gabriella liked Mrs. Corwin. In fact, she was one of her favorite teachers. The woman was petite in her mid fifties with slightly graying long hair. She couldn't think of the right word to describe her, but eccentric came close. At the beginning of the year, she had taken a liking to Gabriella and they had become close. Well, close for a teacher and student.

Gabriella just shook her head and looked down. "Really, it's nothing."

Mrs. Corwin raised an eyebrow at her. "Okay," she said hesitantly. "Well I'm here to talk about it when you are ready if you want." She got up and began to walk back to her desk at the front of the room.

Gabriella sighed. She needed to talk to somebody and she felt more comfortable with Mrs. Corwin than she did with her guidance counselor. "I'm pregnant," she said softly as her eyes filled with tears.

"Oh, honey," the older woman said taking Gabriella into her arms. "It's okay. Shhh…" she comforted as the teen began to sob.

"I didn't mean to. It was an accident. I don't know what to do," she said between tears.

"When are you due?" Mrs. Corwin asked once the tears stopped.

"I'm not really sure. Mid November I think."

"Have you been to the doctor?" Gabriella shook her head. "Well call and make an appointment. They can figure out a date for you and get you started on prenatal vitamins and stuff."

"I can't," Gabriella said. "This isn't my first time. Two and a half years ago I got pregnant and miscarried. The doctor and the nurses and the hospital were terrible. They were so mean to me and treated me awful. I just can't go again." Her eyes filled with tears again.

"Well, you don't _have_ to go to an obstetrician."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you have another option."

* * *

"Bri? You okay?" Troy asked Gabriella snapping her out of her daydream as the bell signaling the end of chemistry class rang. Luckily Mrs. Corwin had planning second period, so Gabriella had stayed and talked to her for half of it. She then spent the rest of the period and chemistry class thinking about what the woman had said. 

"Yeah. Meet me in the rooftop garden at lunch?" she asked as they walked out of the class. They needed to talk.

"Uh, sure," he said, slightly confused.

Two hours later, Gabriella sat on a bench on the rooftop waiting for Troy. She was nervously running everything over in her head, wondering what his reaction would be. She smiled as he emerged from the stairs.

"So what's up?" he asked curiously sitting down beside her.

"Well, you know Mrs. Corwin?" she asked.

"The environmental science teacher? Yeah, what about her?"

"Well, I told her about the baby this morning. And about my fears of going to the doctor or hospital again."

"And…?"

"And she told me that there is another option."

"What's that?"

She took a deep breath. "Troy, how do you feel about having our baby at home?"

"What?" he exclaimed. "Bri, are you crazy? Who would do something like that?"

"Mrs. Corwin. She has five kids and all of them were born at home."

"Yeah, but she's a crazy old hippie!"

"Apparently lots of people have babies at home."

"Well they are all crazy then. What's wrong with going to the hospital? That's what they are there for."

"Troy, I can't go back there. Not after what happened last time. I don't want to do anything for our baby that you don't want. Mrs. Corwin gave me her midwife's phone number. Will you please just meet her with me before you decide?"

Troy sighed. "I guess so, Bri, but don't count on me changing my mind."

* * *

A few days later, small bells on the door chimed as Gabriella and Troy walked into the midwife's office. It didn't look anything like the obstetrician's office back in Phoenix. It was decorated with nice bookshelves, beautiful framed portraits of pregnant women and new babies, delicate figurines and candles. The chairs weren't stiff and plastic, but wooden with soft cushions. 

"You must be Gabriella," a woman that appeared to be in her mid fifties said cheerfully as she walked into the room. "Hi, I'm Miranda, the midwife. It's so nice to meet you." She gave Gabriella a hug and turned to Troy. "Are you dad?"

He nodded. "Yes, my name is Troy."

"Great, come on back," she said motioning for them to follow her into another small room. She shut the door behind them and sat in a chair across from them. "What can I do for you today?"

"Well, I'm pregnant," Gabriella stated. "I'm hoping you can tell us a little more about what it is that you do."

"Well," Miranda started, "midwives only care for women who are having healthy normal pregnancies. Throughout the pregnancy, our clients have to complete risk screenings. If at any point the risk score gets too high or something happens so the pregnancy is no longer within the scope of our practice, we refer you to an obstetrician. That includes things like the placenta covering the cervix, an ultrasound revealing the baby has a disorder that would need special care upon delivery, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia and premature labor. However, most conditions that would result in a referral are usually easily preventable by diet."

"So as long as everything well, what happens?" Gabriella asked.

"You would come in for routine prenatal visits every four weeks until twenty-eight weeks gestation, then you would come in every two weeks until thirty-six weeks gestation when you would come every week until you deliver."

"What about all the testing and stuff?" Troy asked.

"We offer all the normal prenatal testing, although it is not required and you have the right to refuse any test you don't want done. The normal tests include a full blood panel in the beginning to confirm the pregnancy and to test for things like hepatitis and AIDS as well as getting a baseline for your blood count and iron levels. A pap smear to test for gonorrhea and Chlamydia. We also offer the Triple screen blood test at about twenty weeks gestation that tests for downs syndrome, spina bifida and trisomy 18 in the baby. At twenty eight weeks, we do a blood test for gestational diabetes and check your iron again. At thirty six weeks we do a vaginal swab for group beta strep and sometime after twenty eight weeks we like to have an ultrasound done to be sure the placenta is in a location that won't interfere with the delivery."

"So let's say everything stays within your scope of practice. What happens then?" Gabriella asked.

"Midwives deliver babies between thirty seven and forty two weeks gestation. Anything outside that frame would need to be handled by an obstetrician. Forty weeks is full term, but at thirty seven the baby is developed enough to be safe outside the womb without any help. After forty two weeks the likelihood that the placenta will stop functioning properly or that the baby has its first bowel movement in the womb increases and so does the risk for other complications. When your labor starts you'll time the contractions. You usually call me when they get to be every four minutes, lasting one minute for at least an hour, but you should always trust your instinct. If you feel the need to call before that, you should."

"Then you come to the house in time to deliver the baby?" Troy asked.

"Yeah, unless you want to catch the baby," Miranda answered with a grin.

"Me? What?" he stammered. "No way! That's your job!"

"Okay, but you can always change your mind later."

"No thanks."

"Any other questions?"

"Isn't it, like, dangerous to have a baby at home?" Troy asked.

"Oh heavens no!" Miranda said with a small laugh. "In fact, quite the opposite. For a healthy normal pregnancy it's actually safer to deliver at home than it is at the hospital. Hospitals are full of unfamiliar germs, but at home you are only exposed to your own germs that you are already immune to. Countries like Denmark and Sweden have some of the lowest maternal and infant mortality rates in the world and about seventy percent of their babies are born at home with midwives."

"But what if something goes wrong?" Gabriella asked.

"The screening throughout the pregnancy makes sure that the chance of an emergency occurring is very slim. The majority of transfers to hospitals are not emergency situations, just moms who have been pushing too long or their water has been broken for a long time and are starting to show signs of infection. In the rare case of a true emergency, we call 911 and go to the nearest hospital. I've been a midwife for thirty five years and I have never had to call an ambulance. The 'emergencies' you hear about in hospitals are usually the result of interventions. They have a cascading effect. One intervention leads to another, that leads to another, that leads to a complication, that leads to more interventions that lead to an 'emergency'. Without being stuck in bed deprived of food and water or the use of things like continuous fetal monitoring, drugs or other interventions, midwives rarely encounter complications. Unlike in a hospital, I will be with you through most of your labor monitoring you to make sure everything is going well." She paused letting everything sink in. "Do you need some time to discuss things privately?"

"Yes, please," Gabriella said.

"Ok, just come on out when you are done." Miranda exited the room and shut the door behind her.

"So? What do you think?" Gabriella asked Troy excitedly.

"I don't know, Bri," he said cautiously. "She seems nice enough and all, but the whole thing just kind of weirds me out. Isn't having a baby messy? Do you really want all that, um, _stuff_ all over your house?"

"I'm sure they take precautions to keep things clean and clean everything up before they leave."

"I don't know, Bri…"

"Troy, please?" she asked, pleading him with her eyes.

He sighed. "Is this really what you want?" She nodded. "Okay," he agreed slowly.

She jumped up and gave him a hug. "Oh, thank you, Troy!"

Miranda looked up from her desk as they emerged from the room. "Have you decided?" she asked.

"Set me an appointment!" Gabriella beamed.

* * *

After their meeting with the midwife, Gabriella and Troy arrived at school just in time for lunch. They walked into the lunchroom and sat at their usual table that was already filled with the usual gang. 

"Hey, guys!" Jason, who was the first to notice their presence said. "Where have you been all morning?"

Gabriella and Troy exchanged looks with each other. They had agreed on the way to school to tell everyone else about the pregnancy today.

"We were, uh, at a prenatal appointment," Troy said nervously.

"Prenatal?" Jason asked confused.

"Oh my gosh! You're pregnant?!" one of the cheerleaders named Cassie yelled excitedly, causing heads all over the cafeteria to turn.

"Well I guess you took care of telling the rest of the school," Gabriella laughed. Cassie and all the other girls at their table swarmed around Gabriella asking her a million questions. The rest of the cafeteria began to buzz with news of the pregnancy.

"So what did the doctor say?" Taylor asked shoving her way through the other girls and pulling Gabriella down on the bench next to her.

"We've actually decided to see a midwife, not a doctor," she said.

"What's the difference?"

Gabriella looked at Troy with a grin. She knew everyone was going to flip when they found out. "Doctors deliver babies in hospitals, midwives deliver babies at home."

Everyone at the table was shocked. "At home?" Taylor asked confused. "Like_your_ house?" Gabriella nodded.

"Ewwww! No way!" Chad said in disbelief.

"Well get used to the idea. We," Gabriella said motioning between her and Troy, "want you two to be there."

"Ewwww!" Chad said again, earning an elbow jab in the stomach from Taylor.

"We would be honored," Taylor spoke for them both.

"Okay," Chad agreed reluctantly. "But I'll wait in another room until the yucky parts are over."

* * *

"I think I'm going to quit basketball," Troy said a few months later as he and Gabriella laid on a blanket at the rock quarry, relaxing in the shade. 

"What?" Gabriella asked. "Why?"

"So I can get a job and support our baby."

"Troy, we've been over this before. Don't worry about getting a job. I inherited more than enough money to take care of us."

"I know, but I just don't feel right using your money and not contributing at all."

"Don't worry about it. You need to keep playing so you can get that basketball scholarship. With a college degree you'll be able to support us a lot more in the long run."

He sighed. "I guess so. Are you ready for next week?"

Summer was almost over and their senior year of high school started in only a few days. Gabriella was less than excited about returning to school with her pregnant belly. At six months she had finally "popped" and there was no disguising it. She didn't like all the extra attention it got her. It seemed everybody wanted to be friends with the pregnant girl.

"I don't have much of a choice, do I?" she asked.

They sat in silence for a few moments before Troy asked the question that had been bugging him for weeks. "What are you going to do when the baby is born?"

The same question had been hanging over her head as well. She had a few options. She could transfer to West High where they had a teen parent program with a daycare, she could continue at East High and put the baby in another daycare facility, she could do a home schooling program or she could withdraw from East High and take the GED test. None of the options really appealed to her though.

"I don't know, Troy," she sighed. "I don't know."

* * *

"There," Troy said, hanging the last of the framed art on the wall of the nursery. He stepped back into the doorway and wrapped his arms around Gabriella from behind with his hands resting on her large belly as they admired the completed room. They had decided to keep the baby's gender a surprise until the birth so it was painted beige with pastel green and yellow accents. 

"It's perfect, Troy," she said breathily. "Now all we have to do is wait."

"Just think," he said kissing the top of her head. "Any day now this room will be filled with the cries of our baby girl."

"Or boy."

"I'm telling you, Bri, it's a girl and she's going to look just like her beautiful mama."

"Whatever you say, daddy."


	10. Chapter 10

**Here it is, the final chapter. First, let me answer a few questions that were PMed to me. Yes, people actually have there babies at home. No, they aren't crazy. No, it's not dangerous. LOL Anyways, here it is... the last chapter! Enjoy!  
**

* * *

Gabriella threw herself on her bed and began to sob. It was late Tuesday afternoon, two days before Thanksgiving, and she and Troy had just arrived home from a midwife appointment. She begged Miranda to do a cervical exam and was devastated when it showed no changes. She was a week and a half overdue. If she didn't deliver in the next two days, she would have to transfer to an obstetrician and deliver in the hospital via induction on Friday morning.

Troy placed a gentle hand on her arm to comfort her. "Bri, it's okay," he said softly. "Please don't be upset. The baby will be here before you know it."

"Troy, we're running out of time!" she exclaimed through her tears. "I'm going to have to go to the hospital, I know it!"

"You don't know that. We still have a couple days. That's plenty of time. You don't know what will happen between now and then."

"Nothing, Troy! Nothing will happen, because nothing has been happening!"

"Of course things are happening. You've been having contractions."

"That's my point. I've been having contractions on and off for days and they haven't done any good!"

"Bri, you heard what Miranda said before she checked you. Dilation isn't a good judge of when labor will start. You can walk around five centimeters dilated for weeks or you can go into labor tonight without being dilated at all." He leaned over and kissed her bare shoulder. "We could always have a little 'fun' to try and jump start things," he added with a grin and a wink.

She rolled her eyes with a weak smile. "Ugh," she groaned. "Is that all you ever think about?"

"I can't help it. I've never seen anything sexier than the woman I love carrying our baby."

"Well, I certainly don't _feel_ sexy."

"Well then, you're just going to have to trust me on this one." He began placing sweet kisses on her neck and along her jaw. Just as she was about to surrender herself to herself to him, the doorbell rang causing Troy to groan. "Just ignore it," he said as he resumed kissing her.

"It's Chad and Taylor," she said trying to get up.

"So?"

"Baby,_you_are the one that told them to come over."

"Yeah, well, I didn't realize I'd have something better to do at the time. This could be our last chance for a while." The doorbell rang again.

"I doubt it."

"Bri," he whined.

"Troy," she mimicked.

He let out a sigh and threw his hands up in defeat. "Fine."

The doorbell rang a third time just as they reached the bottom of the stairs. "You have terrible timing," Troy muttered as he opened the door.

"You're still pregnant?" Chad joked ignoring him.

"Don't remind me," Gabriella said, her eyes welling up with tears.

"Chad," Taylor scolded as she hit him on the shoulder. "You are so insensitive!" She rushed inside and put an arm around Gabriella's shoulders leading her into the living room. The boys exchanged glances and shrugs before following them.

"So have you decided what you're going to do about school after the baby is born?" she asked once she had Gabriella calmed down.

Gabriella let out a heavy sigh. "No, I still have no idea," she said. "I have so much to think about. How I'm going to finish high school, how to make it through college, how Troy will make it through college, what I even want to go to college for. I have so much on my mind, it's ridiculous. Not to mention I'm only days away from losing my dream birth to a stupid hospital."

"No more contractions or anything?" Taylor asked.

"Oh, there are plenty of contractions. They've been on and off for about a week now. I've been having minor ones every fifteen minutes or so for the last day and a half. They just aren't getting any more frequent, any longer or anymore intense. They aren't doing anything. I'm so over this shit. I'm done being pregnant. I hate it and I want it over with!"

"Bri, it will be over before you know it," Troy reassured her. "One way or another that baby is coming out within the next few days."

"I know, but there is still so much we haven't figured out."

"Like what?"

"Whether or not to vaccinate, a pediatrician, a religion, a _name_."

"We have time to figure all that out. We don't have to decide it all right now."

"I know. It's just a lot on my mind and it's stressing me out," she said with another sigh. "So what do you guys want for dinner? I don't really feel like cooking."

"But, baby, that's where you belong. Barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen," Troy joked.

"Troy Bolton! I cannot believe you just said that!" Gabriella exclaimed with a laugh as she hit him with a pillow from the couch.

"Hey!" he said holding his arms up to try and block her swings. After she stopped a moment later he asked, "You guys just want to order some pizza?"

Everyone nodded in agreement so Gabriella got up and walked into the kitchen to call their usual order in. When she returned to the living room Taylor had moved to the other couch with Chad, who looked very antsy about something. "Thirty to forty five minutes," she said sitting down next to Troy.

It was quiet for a moment before Chad spoke up. "Do you have your midwife's phone number?" he asked.

"Yeah, I have it saved in my phone," she answered as she picked her cell phone up from the coffee table. "Why?"

"Because we might need her services," Taylor said with a small smile.

"Oh my gosh!" Gabriella exclaimed standing up and hurrying over to her to give her a hug. "Congratulations! When are you due?"

"Late July or early August, I think."

"Congrats, man," Troy said clapping his friend on the back.

"Thanks, I think," Chad replied nervously.

"Don't worry, you'll get used too the idea and get excited before you know it."

"So, you're planning on having a homebirth, too?" Gabriella asked excitedly.

"Yep!" Taylor said.

"Well, it hasn't been decided yet," Chad corrected. "We'll see how yours goes first." Chad hadn't made it any secret that he was very nervous about the idea of a homebirth. After all, his dad was an obstetrician who was convinced it was dangerous regardless of the numerous scientific studies and medical journals stating otherwise. He repeatedly lectured him on how irresponsible and reckless his friends were being by choosing to have their baby at home.

Taylor playfully rolled her eyes. "Yes, we are having a homebirth."

"Want to watch a movie?" Troy asked when they were done eating as they all leaned back with full bellies. Everyone shrugged so he put a movie in and hit play.

About thirty minutes into the movie, Gabriella tensed up and winced. When Troy looked over at her she had her eyes closed and was breathing deeply. When she opened her eyes he gave her a questioning glance, as if to ask 'are you okay'? She gave a small smile and a nod and pushed a button on her cell phone to make it light up so she could see the time.

Troy looked back at the TV. Suddenly everything was catching up to him. Any day now he was going to be a father. He would be responsible for a little tin person. He tried to concentrate on the movie, but Gabriella kept looking at her phone. It was getting more frequent as the movie went on and he was starting to get nervous.

After the movie was over, Gabriella grabbed her glass and went into the kitchen to refill it with water. Troy collected the plates from the coffee table and followed a few seconds behind her. He stopped short when he got walked into the kitchen and saw her leaning over with her hands on the counter and her head in her arms. Her eyes were closed and she was taking deep breaths as she lightly rocked. He rushed over to her and began to lightly rub her back while watching the clock. Fifty five seconds later, she took one last deep breath and exhaled slowly as she stood up to face him with a helpless expression on her face.

* * *

Hours later Gabriella stood facing Troy with her arms around his neck and her face buried in his shoulder. She leaned forward into him breathing deeply as he stroked her hair and hummed softly in her ear while they gently swayed back and forth. There was no doubt she was in labor. Troy was amazed at how well she was doing at staying relaxed through her contractions and how composed she seemed to be when he felt like he was going to die from anxiety and anticipation.

"Here, sweetie, take a drink," Taylor said quietly when the contraction ended. Gabriella took the cup and took a few sips of water. "Do you need anything?" Taylor asked her.

She shook her head. It was just past midnight. It had been four hours since the movie ended and she realized her labor was starting. Her contractions were coming about every six and a half minutes. Taylor and Chad had helped them make the birth bed and organize the supplies. Now all they had left to do was wait.

There was a light knock on the bedroom door. "Is it safe to come in?" Chad asked slowly opening the door with his eyes closed.

"Yes, Chad, it's safe. I'm not going to bite your head off," Gabriella said.

"Well, I don't want to see anything gross. There's no _stuff_ anywhere, is there?" he asked.

"You mean like _placenta_?" she asked. She let out a tired laugh when Chad cringed at the word. "No, there's nothing gross." He heaved a sigh of relief and opened his eyes as he walked into the room. "You are such a dork, Chad."

Ignoring her comment, he placed his hand on her shoulder. "How are you?" he asked concerned.

"Tired," she replied.

"Do you want to try and get some sleep?" Troy asked her.

"Right, like I could sleep through this," she said sarcastically.

"Well then, rest? Who knows how long this will last and you'll need your energy for later."

She nodded and they made their way to the bed. Once she was situated on her side with pillows under her belly, between her legs and at her head Troy climbed in beside her and curled his body behind hers. They stayed that way for two hours with Troy humming in her ear and lightly rubbing everything he could reach during contractions.

Troy glanced at the clock. It read 2:45. "Bri, baby, you need to eat something," he said after he realized how long it had been.

"Okay," she agreed softly. He got out of bed and helped her up. They made their way downstairs to the kitchen where Chad and Taylor were sitting around the island drinking coffee.

"What do you want?" Troy asked her. He opened the cabinet reserved for labor foods and waited for her response.

She studied the contents of the shelves. "Soup, I guess." She looked at Taylor. "I suppose it's too late to tell you this sucks and you should never get pregnant."

"Just a little," Taylor answered with a smile.

* * *

Things moved slowly for Gabriella. She and Troy tried to rest as much as possible through the night. Chad and Taylor stayed the night in the guest room. Morning came, and still no change in her contractions. Every six minutes on the dot.

"So what am I supposed to do?" Gabriella asked into the phone. She had called Miranda to let her know what was going on and ask if there was anything she could do to help things move along. She listened to Miranda's response and sighed. "Ok, Miranda. Thanks. Bye."

"What did she say?" Troy asked anxiously when she hung up.

"She said she could come over and check on me, but there's not really anything she can do at this point. She suggested we go to the mall or the movies or shopping to keep us busy and make the time pass quicker. She said walking around might help speed things up."

"Do you feel up to that?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I'll do anything to get this show on the road."

* * *

"No baby yet?" Rusty asked as he and Renee walked through the front door later that night. "I thought for sure I'd come home to a screaming baby." He plopped their suitcases from their business trip on the ground.

"No," Gabriella sighed dejectedly. "No baby yet."

"But soon," Troy said trying to lift her spirits. "Actually, any time now."

"Are you in labor?" Renee asked. Gabriella nodded and leaned into Troy as another contraction started. "For how long now?" Renee asked once it was over.

Gabriella glanced at the clock. It was ten o'clock. More than one full day since her labor started. They spent the entire day walking around the mall and various shops with no change. After they came home and ate dinner the contractions had slowly started to get closer together. They were now just slightly over five minutes apart. "Too long," she said with a sigh.

* * *

"I have to pee," Gabriella stated. Troy slowly rolled out of bed and walked around to her side to help her out. It was just after six o'clock. Around three in the morning Gabriella's contractions completely stopped. Even though they were able to get a couple hours of some much needed sleep, they were both devastated. All their dreams of a beautiful peaceful homebirth had flown out the window. Gabriella resigned herself to accept that at that time the next day they would be packing for the hospital.

As she pulled her panties up and turned to flush the toilet, she felt a small pop and warm fluid gushed down her legs. She looked into the mirror like a deer in headlights at Troy who was standing behind her. Before either of them could say a word, a wave of contraction came crashing down upon her with intensity that threatened to make her legs give out beneath her. She quickly straddled the toilet and sat down folding her arms on the tank and laying her head on them. She moaned in pain.

"Oh, shit!" Troy exclaimed as he began to fumble around not knowing what to do. "TAYLOR!! CHAD!!" he screamed.

Taylor came running into the room. "What's going on?" she asked.

"I think her water broke! What the hell do I do?" he replied. He was drawing a total blank.

"Rub her back," she replied as she started pushing things on the counter out of the way.

_DUH_, he thought to himself. _I knew there was a reason she came to classes with us_.

A few seconds later Chad came running in and slipped on the wet floor, sliding right through the puddle of amniotic fluid. Taylor burst out laughing. He held his wet arms up with a worried look on his face. "Do I even want to know what I'm covered in?" he asked. She just shook her head and laughed.

Gabriella exhaled deeply as the contraction ended and lifted her head.

"So it started up again?" Chad asked, stating the obvious as he got up.

Gabriella ignored him and gave Troy a helpless look. "Oh, God," she said as another contraction started and she started moaning again, this time louder.

"Another one?" Troy asked starting to panic. "Already? That was like 10 seconds!"

"Transition," Taylor said with wide eyes.

Suddenly everything he learned in class came flooding back to him. Transition was the final, most intense stage of labor before she could push. _And the shortest_, he thought to himself as he remembered the teacher saying it could last anywhere from a few minutes to about forty five minutes.

"Shit," he swore again. "Chad, go get my phone off the nightstand." Chad disappeared and quickly returned with the phone, handing it to Troy.

With one hand still rubbing Gabriella's back he used the other to find the right number in his phone book and push call. "Come on, come on, come on," he said impatiently as he waited for an answer. "Miranda! It's Troy." Gabriella began to moan even louder as the contraction peaked. "You need to come _now_!" He hung up the phone and handed it back to Chad. Thankfully, Miranda only lived a few blocks away.

"Do you want to get in the tub?" Taylor asked Gabriella as the contraction came to an end. She barely had time to nod before another overcame her. Taylor started the water in the bath. Once it got to a comfortable temperature she closed the drain. She hurried to get the birth supplies the midwife would need and set the box on the counter. She placed a hand on Gabriella's shoulder. "Stand up, hun. Let's get you in the water."

Gabriella cried out as Taylor and Troy helped her stand up. The contractions were now constant. One didn't even finish before the next begun. "Let's get these off," Taylor said as she pulled Gabriella's panties down and tossed them across the room towards Chad who cringed and jumped out of the way.

"You getting in?" Taylor asked Troy as they helped Gabriella step into the tub.

"Yeah, let me just get my trunks," he said, starting to walk into the bedroom.

She placed a hand on his arm to stop him. She shook her head. "Just get in."

He nodded and stepped into the tub in his boxer briefs, helping Gabriella down into the water. He straddled her with his legs and pulled her to lean back into him. He used one hand to wash water over her belly and the other to stroke her face and hair.

"I have to push," Gabriella said only a few minutes later.

"WHAT?!" Troy exclaimed as full panic set in.

He didn't have time to think about it as she took a deep breath and began to bear down with the start of another contraction.

"Happy Thanksgiving!" he heard. He looked up to see Miranda push past Chad, who was standing in the doorway watching in shock, and quickly stroll into the room.

"Oh, thank God!" he said, relieved.

As Gabriella continued to push, Miranda grabbed a few supplies and knelt by the side of the tub. Troy wondered how she could be so calm at a time like that. She put on some gloves and reached into the water between Gabriella's legs to feel for the baby. Gabriella screamed at the burning sensation of the baby's head crowning. Her head fell back onto Troy's shoulder and she panted as the head was born.

"Great job, Gabriella. One more should do it," Miranda softly reassured her. "Give me your hands," she said to Troy as Gabriella took another deep breath to prepare for the final push.

"What?" He held his hands out to her.

"Reach down here and catch your baby," she replied with a grin as she positioned his hands.

Troy's eyes widened and filled with tears as he felt his baby slide out of his girlfriend and into his hands. Gabriella moaned and exhaled, letting her body relax into his. There wasn't a dry eye in the room as he lifted their baby out of the water and placed it on her chest.

Gabriella was overcome with euphoria as she looked down at the pink little baby in her arms. "A girl," she said breathily as her daughter began to cry. She looked up at Troy who had tears streaming down his face. He leaned over and kissed her on the lips.

"I love you, Bri," he said sweetly.

"I love you, too." The doubts, fears and unanswered questions that had previously consumed her were the farthest thing from her mind. All she could think about was her new little family and just how much she had to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

* * *

** There you go! What did you think? Leave me some love and let me know! And before anyone asks, YES there is a sequel already in the works. It doesn't have a very happy beginning, but it was either start the sequel that way or end this story that way and not write a sequel at all. It's called "Following in Their Footsteps". I've posted the first chapter so go check it out. :)**


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